MCU actor Jonathan Majors is set to make his big screen debut as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it seems that the version of the villain seen in the threequel is one of many Variants that will soon arrive in Phase 5 and Phase 6.
Although Majors already made his presence felt as He Who Remains in Loki's Season 1 finale, the more menacing villain (or at least a Variant of him) that the Avengers will eventually face will be featured in Ant-Man 3. The threequel's first trailer revealed many key differences between Loki's Variant and Ant-Man 3's version, thus spelling bad news for Team Ant-Man.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also confirmed that Kang the Conqueror is shouldering the Multiverse Saga while hinting that there are "different incarnations" or "Variants" of Kang appearing throughout the next few years of MCU storytelling.
Now, Majors appears to be teasing the same thing as Ant-Man 3 approaches its 2023 release.
Jonathan Majors Hypes Up Kang's Many Variants
Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his MCU big-screen debut as the Marvel villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
When asked if Kang appealed to him since he wouldn't have to play the same character each time, Majors responded with "absolutely," before teasing that "there [are] so many Variants of him" that he is excited to portray:
"Yeah, absolutely. That’s what’s on the page. That’s what the IP says. I was cool, very cool. Kang just lives in his own world in the MCU. No spoilers here, but there’s so many variants of him. And with the powers that are the MCU, that intelligentsia and that brain trust there, they’re just really working to use the IP to its best ability, and it’s extremely humbling that they picked me to step into that. So I’m honored to do it, and I’m always excited to see what we’re doing."
Majors continued to share that his landing the role is what he always hoped for as an actor, even claiming the fact that "Kang is a career in itself:"
"And yes, six years after Yale and ten years after North Carolina School of the Arts, my first drama school, it’s what you always hoped for as an actor. Kang is a career in itself. It’s either the cake itself or the cherry on top, I don’t know. But to play multiple versions, it’s just beautiful. It’s a workshop every day."
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Majors confirmed that fans will see a Variant of Kang who is the "warrior version" of the villain, saying that the character "developed every type of combat skill."
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with USA Today, Quantumania director Peyton Reed described Majors as "a force," saying that the actor's drive to win is the one thing he has in common with Kang:
“He wants to win. He really sees every acting role as a challenge and wants to get better and better."
Majors, in the same interview, admitted that he wants to be the part (Kang), not just act it:
“He’s a conqueror; (so) do that [because fans need ] a real reference point, even if it is an olio of conquerors and dictators and kings and queens and villains of the past.“
The MCU newcomer added by saying this hilarious tidbit about acting:
"I just don’t like to act. It’s hard for me. It makes my brain go crazy. I feel silly.”
Will Most of Phase 5 & 6 Feature Kang's Many Variants?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed confirmed that the threequel will have a "profound impact" on the MCU, and this comment appears to suggest that the events of the movie will likely unleash the many Variants of Kang that both Jonathan Majors and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have been teasing.
This would mean that MCU heroes in Phase 5 and Phase 6 will presumably encounter Variants of Kang leading up to the ultimate showdown with the character in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Doing so allows the heroes to have a common enemy in the lead-up to the next Avengers movie, thus explaining why they need to assemble.
On the flip side, it's also possible that the promise of seeing many Variants of Kang would be fulfilled in Avengers 5, with Earth's Mightiest Heroes being required to face them at different points in time.
As a result, the next Avengers movie would be the team's greatest battle yet as they chase an enemy through time who's an even more menacing threat than Thanos.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to premiere in theaters on February 17, 2023.
