Jonathan Majors, who played Kang in the upcoming sequel to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, discusses some of the profound sources of inspiration for his portrayal of the character. The third installment of Paul Rudd’s Marvel franchise, which will serve as the first film in Phase 5 of the MCU, is planned for release in February 2023. The movie, in which Peyton Reed makes a comeback, is expected to be the most important Ant-Man release to date because Kang the Conqueror makes his official debut. Kang made his first appearance in a different form in the Loki season 1 finale, but this new iteration of the character is anticipated to be the main antagonist in Phase 6.
In a recent interview with CinePOP, Majors shares some of his inspirations for creating the formidable latest Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania villain, who is expected to be the next Thanos-level challenge for the Avengers to defeat. Kang is expected to be the next Thanos-level threat. Majors says that while Loki, Ultron, and Thanos served as some of the inspiration for his preparation for the role, he also drew inspiration from a variety of other sources and that the character’s significance is not lost on him. See the actor’s entire statement down below:
“It’s funny because I did go through and I did look at Ultron, I looked at Loki, I looked at Thanos. And I had an idea of, just for me, what I wanted to bring to the MCU through Kang. And there’s a certain requirement that has to happen.”
“I think Ultron, Loki, and Thanos, I think those would be the quintessential baddies or anti-heroes. They all had very interesting qualities to them and some of them shared qualities, which is just a necessity for taking up the mantle. So once I took those out and put those in the Kang soup, I then looked at, ‘What is it we need for this time period?’
“Our generation, what we represent, what is a big bad to us? What are our children going to see? What are our partners going to see? What are our leaders going to see? What is it that our zeitgeist, quote unquote, needs? What are we conjuring up? What’s in the unconscious of our time now? And Marvel has the, in my opinion, the largest platform in entertainment. And so to bring the big bad, the big bad has to represent so many things and has to be connected to so many things. So I read the newspaper, I looked at history books… I talked to people, I look at my child, talk to my partner. What is it we’re afraid of in this time? What is it that’s scaring us? Because Kang has to be… any big bad is a manifestation of our deepest insecurities as a society.”
How Kang Could Pose a Greater Threat Than Thanos
The emergence of Josh Brolin’s Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, which was hinted at throughout Phases 1 and 2, made it clear that he was the most potent foe the MCU had ever encountered. The villain had the intelligence to match and the brute strength of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, which was only enhanced when he acquired all six Infinity Stones. Additionally, Thanos prevails in Avengers: Infinity War; Tony Stark and his allies must use time travel in Avengers: Endgame to reverse Thanos’ victory. Kang, on the other hand, is mainly a master of time, so if the Avengers are once again defeated, his actions won’t be as easily undone.
He will have abilities that, if the character is true to his comic book counterpart, surpass those of Thanos. Kang is not only a talented military strategist but also possesses a genius-level intellect. Majors’ villain is shaping up to be a threat the likes of which the MCU has never encountered. When combined with his futuristic armor (which has already been seen in the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer), time-traveling ship, highly-advanced weapons, and an army of potentially trillions of soldiers. Kang first appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Majors’ villain may be scaled back to avoid him being too powerful compared to Earth’s mightiest heroes.
It is unclear how Kang will stack up against Thanos, Loki, & Ultron, but Majors’ extensive research and general thoughts on the position suggest he is treating the role seriously. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has the potential to overthrow Thanos as the biggest and most potent antagonist to appear in the MCU thus far, potentially laying the groundwork for the two Avengers films in Phase 6. Fortunately, it won’t be long before viewers get to see Majors’ villain in action for the first time, with a release date now just over 2 months away.
Source: CinePOP