According to one Ant-Man star, a key part of Avengers: Doomsday "makes no sense" unless his linguistically gifted character is involved.
Speaking with The Direct at a recent comic convention, David Dastmalchian shared his ideas for how his MCU characters, Veb and Kurt from the Ant-Man franchise, could fit into Marvel Studios' future movies. He also said that if he could add a third character to his roster of roles in the MCU, it would be Morbius.
Dastmalchian said that Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's Veb could neatly fit into a Fantastic Four story. He noted that if the team is going to be "traipsing around all the different universes" and encountering "different beings and creatures," Veb could "help interpret all the language barriers."
"I tell you what, I think that it makes no sense that the Fantastic Four are going to be traipsing around all the different universes within the galaxies and all these different realities and all these different beings and creatures from other places. They need a Veb to help interpret all the language barriers.
With Avengers: Doomsday looking like it will feature exactly that, Dastmalchian said (perhaps half jokingly) that he is "putting out the call right now" to make Veb "part of the 'Fantastic Five.'"
He added that his other MCU character, Kurt from the first two Ant-Man movies, as well as What If...?, "could fix all the computers at Avengers HQ:"
"So, I'm putting out the call right now. Marvel, if you're listening, I think Veb needs to come and be part of the 'Fantastic Five.' And Kurt could fix all the computers at Avengers HQ. So, that needs to happen."
Having played two roles in the MCU already, Dastmalchian knows exactly who he would want a hypothetical third to be: Morbius. He explained that he has "always been a fan of the horror and the weirder characters," adding that "anybody from the West Coast Avengers would be fun" too:
"I've always wanted to take a crack at Morbius, the living vampire. I would love the opportunity to play Dr. Michael Morbius. Oh, my God. There's so many great characters in in in the MCU, and I've always been a fan of the horror and the weirder characters. Anybody from the West Coast Avengers would be fun for me to get to play around with."
In that same vein, Dastmalchian threw in a few other possibilities, including "the Marvel version of Dracula," a character he "always loved:"
"I love the idea of the Marvel version of Dracula, which I always loved. I thought that any of the monster stuff, the Midnight Suns, the stuff that was part of the old Defenders, would be cool."
Outside of the MCU, Dastmalchian is known for roles in Oppenheimer, Dune: Part One, and The Suicide Squad, among many other projects.
What Could the Future Look Like for MCU Horror & Weirdness?
Dastmalchian's characters are not the most critical to the MCU's future by any means, and they may never appear again. That being said, his comment about "the horror and the weirder characters" in Marvel does bring up an interesting conversation about the future of the unconventional in the franchise.
The MCU has explored how silly comic stories can get before, for instance, the episode of What If...? during which Darcy Lewis and Howard the Duck had a baby. The franchise has also dipped its toes into the horror genre with projects like Werewolf By Night, Moon Knight, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
There is one project on the horizon for Marvel that has the opportunity to put a greater focus on both of these facets of the MCU's source material: Blade. This is a movie about a half-vampire vampire hunter in a long black trenchcoat, who already has a notorious and extensive history and seems like a perfect fit for Marvel's weird and horror parts.
However, Blade has been riddled with production delays, creative disputes, and writing setbacks. Though officially still on Marvel's agenda after Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, many speculated for years that the project would eventually be canceled.
So, there is certainly a place to bring in the weirder and more horror-esque aspects of Marvel, but whether that place ends up coming to be at all still seems up in the air.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
