Paul Rudd is now a vitally important part of the MCU in his role as Scott Lang and Ant-Man. And after formulating the plan to bring half the universe back to life before defeating Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, he'll have another powerful force of nature to face in his third solo movie - Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.
Rudd is also known as one of the MCU's funniest actors in the same way Ant-Man is one of the franchise's funniest characters, which has led to an interesting conversation running the past couple of years about how he could have defeated Thanos. That plan would have seen Scott Lang shrink down and enter the area on Thanos' body where the sun definitely doesn't shine before expanding and ripping him to shreds.
This joke has even been addressed in a non-canon piece of MCU content, with Rudd's Ant-Man addressing the theory in the "Avengers: Quantum Encounter" dining adventure aboard the Disney Wish cruise ship, bluntly calling it "gross" before being cut off from explaining further.
Now, Rudd addressed this theory in a more real-world setting while comparing his battle against Thanos to his upcoming struggle with Kang the Conqueror.
Paul Rudd Discusses Thanos/Ant-Man Meme
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Paul Rudd shared his thoughts on the idea of Ant-Man defeating Thanos by crawling up Thanos' butt and expanding.
Rudd is well aware of the theory, and although he knows some fans see it as a "missed opportunity," he also jokingly teased that fans will have to wait until the next movie releases to see if it's corrected:
"I know what you're talking about, a way to kill Thanos. And that some people consider it a missed opportunity. Well, I guess you'll just have to see the next one."
But while he thinks this would work against Thanos, he isn't as confident that it would work as well against Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror:
"I don't know if you can take Kang out that way either, Kang's pretty tough, and I gotta assume all parts of him are tough."
When asked what he could comment on rumors claiming that Ant-Man may meat his demise in Quantumania, Rudd only said that things will "be really interesting" when the threequel debuts.
How Will Ant-Man Actually Defeat Kang?
Seeing that the MCU is a franchise that operates almost exclusively under a PG-13 rating, outside of the upcoming Deadpool 3, it's almost a guarantee that Ant-Man won't be climbing up anybody's butt to win a battle. But even hearing that Paul Rudd has thought about it is certainly an entertaining piece of news as the MCU fandom prepares for Ant-Man's next adventure.
With the option to climb up Kang's rear firmly out of the picture, Scott Lang will have to figure out another way to stop the powerful supervillain, even though this movie will only hold him at bay until later projects like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Majors' impact will be felt all across the Multiverse Saga, with Paul Rudd being only the second leading MCU character to truly interact with him this deeply after Tom Hiddleston's experience in last year's Loki. And after seeing the first tease of his prime form in action during the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, fans will be anxious to find out exactly how the Avengers will combat Kang's true power.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will debut in theaters on February 17, 2023.
