Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed dove into the film's second post-credits scene, which included an MCU veteran ahead of his next appearance.
Ant-Man 3 brought a wild reunion for Jonathan Majors' Kang and Tom Hiddleston's Loki in the movie's second post-credits scene - their second interaction after the God of Mischief met He Who Remains in Loki Season 1.
This scene had Hiddleston's antihero and Owen Wilson's Mobius in the audience for a presentation by Victor Timely, Majors' fifth leading Variant of Kang, as he learned just how big of a threat the Multiversal villain will be moving forward.
And after the warrior Variant of Kang made his presence felt in Ant-Man 3, fans are anxious to see what Loki Season 2 will bring to the table for the Multiverse Saga.
Peyton Reed on Loki's Ant-Man 3 Scene
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, director Peyton Reed addressed Loki's return in the post-credits scene from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Reed praised Jonathan Majors' work on set as he portrayed the MCU's Victor Timely, commenting on his "Frederick Douglass hair" - referencing a famous escaped slave and abolitionist from the late 1800s - and the way he embodied everything from that era in time:
"So, you know, that's obviously Victor Timely. I was whisked by the set when they were shooting that and I just loved his Frederick Douglass hair and his whole sort of period, the intonation of his voice and everything."
He also explained how exciting it was to tease the audience with the idea of just how many Variants of Kang will make their presence felt in the Multiverse Saga:
"It really was to sort of tease the audience with the idea of like, 'In Phase 5, you're going to meet a lot of different variants.'"
Additionally, he noted how much sense it made to use Kang in this fashion as the MCU moves toward more Multiversal storylines, particularly with how Loki Season 2 was being developed:
"As the MCU has been steering towards these Multiversal stories… it made sense to sort of adapt [Kang] for that. And it worked with what was going to go on in Loki, so very early on as they were developing Loki and we were developing this movie, it just made sense."
Reed also spoke with IndieWire about the scene, confirming that it's directly from Season 2 of Loki and once again praising Majors for his portrayal and the look he had for the character:
"It’s a scene from Season 2 of ‘Loki,’ and Victor Timely is yet another variant from the comics. I love Jonathan’s look and his sort of period voice and his Frederick Douglass hair. That scene, there was just another glimpse of sort of, 'OK, there are all these variants and here’s maybe the next one you might meet.’ We liked that idea."
Looking back to his work on the original Ant-Man movie, Reed compared this Loki scene to one from 2015's Ant-Man that teased Scott Lang's presence in Captain America: Civil War with a scene from that movie:
"We did a similar thing in the first ‘Ant-Man,’ the first tag scene was introducing Hope getting to see the suit, and then she was going to suit up. And then it was a quick scene from ‘Captain America: Civil War’ implying of course, that Ant-Man was going to return. But it was fun because it just sort of set the tone for all the potentially insane versions of Jonathan that you’re going to meet along the way."
When Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness was asked by The Hollywood Reporter if he had a hand in writing the scene, he only confirmed that there was an "overarching theme" that the Ant-Man team adhered to rather than anything specific:
"Not direct writing. We had discussions with them, and there’s an overarching theme. But no, that team had already been working on their stuff, and it’ll certainly come into play in future movies. But I wrote the mid-credit scene, and that’s a tease of the next Kang appearance. So I haven’t written for Owen Wilson yet. Perhaps one day. (Laughs)"
Loki Ready for MCU Return Post-Ant-Man 3
Seeing Loki in this scene from Ant-Man 3 is no real shock after the God of Mischief became the first MCU character to interact with Kang during Loki Season 1. It also continues Peyton Reed's trend of setting up major storylines for future MCU outings the way he did for Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
Now, Victor Timely looks to play a pivotal role in Season 2 of Loki opposite Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson, although that will be far from the only character Jonathan Majors plays in the upcoming show.
The Summer 2023 series is rumored to feature a number of different Kang Variants wreaking havoc across the Multiverse, all while Loki and Mobius try to figure out exactly what they're facing. And with Loki Season 2 setting up future outings like Deadpool 3 and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Ant-Man 3 will only serve further as a stepping stone for everything coming in the Multiverse Saga.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters. Loki Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ in Summer 2023.
