MCU: 5 Rejected Designs for Ant-Man 3's MODOK (Photos)

By Klein Felt Posted:
MODOK Rejected Designs, Ant-Man 3, Paul Rudd

Months after Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's release, new looks at rejected designs for Corey Stoll's MODOK have been made public. 

The MCU threequel kicked off the year for Marvel Studios, seeing the Ant-Man family go up against its biggest foe yet in Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror

However, Kang was not the only big bad seen in the film as fan-favorite Marvel Comics villain MODOK (Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) showed up for his divisive MCU debut.

This version of MODOK looked the part, being the traditional warped body and head jammed into a suit, but he came with a different origin story than what Marvel fans are used to. If that wasn't enough, apparently Marvel Studios considered taking even bigger liberties with the iconic villain. 

Rejected MODOK Designs

MODOK In Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Marvel

A number of Marvel concept artists revealed five scrapped designs for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's MODOK. 

These new looks offer a glimpse at what could have been for the MCU take on the classic Marvel villain, with some being massive departures from what ended up on-screen. 

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Aleksi Briclot

Artist Aleksi Briclot's idea (shown above) was intended "to make [the villain] first look more frightening" with a "huge [metallic] face" being a sort of "totem" before the revealing "what’s inside." 

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Aleksi Briclot

Briclot also posted a creation they dubbed "MODOKZILLA." This was a version of the character that would have "[played] on size and scale" with the villain being reminiscent of "a huge kaiju."

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Jerad S. Marantz

Concept artist Jerad S. Marantz posted his take on a "MODOK Ship concept" he was working on for the film. 

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Jerad S. Marantz

He noted that "originally MODOK was going to appear in a ship," keeping "the character's mystery for a little bit;" however, that plan was ultimately abandoned by the Quantumania team.

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 Calum Alexander Watt

This ship concert was also explored by Calum Alexander Watt, albeit in a much more gaudy fashion. 

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 Calum Alexander Watt

With this version of MODOK, Watt "wanted to push the weaponized quality" of the villain, essentially turning him into "a flying missile."

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Anthony Francisco

The final design may look more familiar, as it was actually used for the character in the movie. 

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Anthony Francisco

Created by Anthony Francisco, this version was the "approved final design" for the character, sporting the gold mask and weaponized chair seen in the Marvel Studios blockbuster. 

The Many Faces of Marvel's MODOK

It is always exciting when fans get to see these scrapped designs for various characters within the franchises they love. In this instance, it shows just how much work and iteration goes into the process of crafting what eventually ends up on-screen. 

The biggest differences found within these early concept drawings seem to be with the scrapped ship idea for the Ant-Man 3 villain. A couple of these renderings lean into that ship angle, which was something that was ultimately abandoned. 

While most of the unused designs look relatively close to what showed up in the movie, the pair of "flying missile" designs from Calum Alexander Watt looked to be the most noticeable departure from the final MODOK design. 

This take on Corey Stoll's Microversal villain looks like something pulled straight out of the hit video game series Metal Gear Solid, which would have stood out from the zany, almost-cartoony design of the Quantum Realm. 

What fans ultimately got on-screen was a mix of the classic comic design of the character and the technology established for the world MODOK found himself in, and many would say it largely worked in the new MCU movie. 

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will release on premium VOD platforms on April 18

Release Date
February 17, 2023
Platform
Theaters
- About The Author: Klein Felt
Klein Felt is a Senior Editor at The Direct. Joining the website back in 2020, he helped jumpstart video game content on The Direct. Klein plays a vital role as a part of the site's content team, demonstrating expertise in all things PlayStation, Marvel, and the greater entertainment industry.