After introducing the first Variant of Kang the Conqueror in Marvel Studios' Loki, the Disney+ series has come back into the fold for the marketing campaign for the MCU's newest movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki had the unique honor and challenge of introducing the first Variant of Kang in its final episode, setting him up as the main villain of Season 1. To kick off Phase 5, Jonathan Majors is back in action as the prime version of Kang in Ant-Man 3, embodying the ultimate big bad of the entire Multiverse Saga as he faces off against this threequel's core group of shrinking heroes.
Considering that these two characters are intrinsically connected thanks to Kang’s nature of existing throughout the entire Multiverse, Loki and Ant-Man 3 are uniquely tied to one another regardless of what happens in this new movie’s story.
And now, Marvel took advantage of that connection by highlighting both of the first two Kang Variants in a new
Loki Footage Used in Ant-Man 3 Promo
Marvel Entertainment released a new promotional featurette for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania that included footage from Marvel Studios' 2021 Disney+ series Loki.
The promo included the shot featuring Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Sophia di Martino's Sylvie from Episode 5 when they first reach the Citadel at the End of Time in The Void, finding He Who Remains' ultimate lair before the final duel.
Loki and Sylvie stand ready for battle with their swords in hand, discovering the mystery behind the man who was revealed to be backing the Time Variance Authority.
The promo includes a comparison shot of Jonathan Majors' two Kang Variants, with the new one from Ant-Man 3 boasting a shorter haircut and scars running down either side of his face.
A kaleidoscopic image utilizes seven different photos of Jonathan Majors' characters, with his emotions ranging from giddy to menacing in the footage.
As the footage runs, leading man Paul Rudd looks back on Majors' appearance in Loki, noting how "he's very different" in Ant-Man 3 and teasing the "infinite number" of Kang Variants that exist in the Multiverse:
"Audiences have seen a version of this character in the series Loki. In our film, he’s very different. Kang is an infinite number of different personas. You need an actor to be able to pull that off, and that is Jonathan Majors."
The full promo can be seen below:
How Loki's Kang Variant Leads Into Ant-Man 3
While He Who Remains and prime Kang are two vastly different characters individually, there's no doubt that they're linked to one another thanks to this villain's place all over the MCU's Multiverse.
This featurette highlights perfectly how Loki took such a big step in introducing this first version of Kang, allowing Marvel Studios to show the first look at just how dangerous Kang was in his interactions with the God and Goddess of Mischief. His Loki episode ended with the entire Multiverse going to hell, and while that's sure to be explored more deeply in Loki Season 2, it sets up just how much influence Kang has over all of existence even in only his second MCU appearance.
The Loki inclusion also opens the door for the Variant idea to be expanded upon through the course of Ant-Man 3, even if plot points from the Disney+ show aren't specifically detailed during the threequel's 2-hour-5-minute runtime. Only time will tell if Tom Hiddleston and Paul Rudd cross paths at some point in the MCU's long future, but with them being the first two protagonists to interact with this Multiversal threat, they'll have a unique link to one another for years to come.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will premiere in theaters on Friday, February 17, and all six episodes of Loki are streaming on Disney+.
