Avengers: The Kang Dynasty writer Jeff Loveness addressed his thoughts on Avengers: Endgame's use of time travel.
Time travel has always been important to the Marvel universe, and that finally became the case for the MCU too in Avengers: Endgame. The concept was introduced via the Quantum Realm thanks to an idea from Paul Rudd's Ant-Man and a later invention by Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man.
In the years since the Time Heist, time travel has only become more essential to the current storytelling in the MCU. Disney+'s Loki obviously took full advantage of time travel to introduce the TVA, Multiverse, and Kang the Conqueror, setting the stage for its important role in the saga to come.
Ahead of the proper MCU debut of Jonathan Majors' Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the writer of the threequel and the next Avengers movie has explained why the history of time travel in the MCU has left him "bummed out."
Avengers 5 Writer Opens up on Endgame Frustration
Speaking to SFX Magazine in the latest issue, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Ant-Man 3 writer Jeff Loveness gave his thoughts on Endgame's Time Heist mission and touched on how he prepared to bring Kang to the MCU in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Before opening up on his Endgame frustration, Loveness was asked whether he took a "deep dive" into Kang's comic history to bring him to the MCU, to which he said his research was "too deep" and specifically noted how he got "way into the Rama-Tut and Scarlet Centurion stuff:"
“Too deep, too deep! I got way into the Rama-Tut and Scarlet Centurion stuff, trying to read my way through that, and the Celestial Madonna with Mantis! That’s the joy of the character. He is just this infinite snake eating infinite tails, a man literally at war against himself."
Rama-Tut was a Variant of Kang who not only ruled over Egypt as Pharaoh but was the first to be introduced to the Marvel universe in 1963's Fantastic Four #19 - and he was already referenced in the MCU in Moon Knight. Meanwhile, Scarlet Centurion was the 23rd in Kang's line of sons who donned a suit of armor and was proficient in military strategy and combat.
The MCU writer spoke on how he finds himself "a little bummed" that Endgame included so much time travel, meaning Kang now has to "broaden out into the Multiverse" when his bread and butter has always been time-hopping:
“I haven’t seen a time-travelling character done with such intricacy and exploration. I’m a little bummed because 'Endgame' did so much time travel, so you almost need to broaden him out a little bit too, maybe broaden out into the multiverse a little more, the dimensionality of the character, the limitless freedom he has while also being completely uprooted from his time and himself. Is it just going to all fall apart again because another version of him can destroy it as well? What’s the purpose of building Rome if you are going to burn it down the next day, because they want to have their own Rome?"
He added that he "took a ton from the comics," but fans should still expect him to "throw a curveball" so that they don't know what to expect:
“I certainly took a ton from the comics but the joy of these movies is you also get to put some of yourself into it, you get to put a completely new spin because if you just do a 100% comic book adaptation people know all the tricks and what to expect. You have to use that as a foundation and then throw a curveball. I’ve tried to lean into him being a more interesting character than people expect, hopefully.”
How Avengers: Endgame Forced Changes to the MCU's Kang
Going back through Kang the Conqueror's comic history, most of his unique traits and storylines stem from how he used time travel to mess with the past, present, and future. Although he does obviously have plenty of history with the Multiverse too, such as through the Council of Kangs - a group of his Variants.
Typically, Thanos doesn't have much to do with time travel, with the Infinity Stone-obsessed Mad Titan usually leaning more into the cosmic. But in order to undo Avengers: Infinity War's mass slaughter and have a nostalgic trip down Infinity Saga memory lane, time travel was necessary to incorporate into Endgame.
Naturally, this will have forced Jeff Loveness and company to somewhat lean away from time travel in order to avoid having two Avengers blockbusters back-to-back centered around the concept. With this being the Multiverse Saga, the concept of alternate universes and timelines will likely fill in that role instead.
Fans of Kang and Marvel Comics will be elated to hear just how deep Loveness is diving into the villain's history in preparation for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. This ought to make for a strong adaptation of the Conqueror that will only be furthered by Jonathan Majors' talent.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hits theaters on May 2, 2025 - although there may be some reason to believe that Marvel Studios might delay the movie.
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