Kang the Conqueror is about to step into a role as one of the biggest villains in comic book movie history during Phases 5 and 6 of the MCU. Before being the key antagonist in 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and playing a role in 2023's Loki Season 2, he'll give the MCU's tiniest Avengers some huge challenges as the bad guy in next year's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The MCU got its first taste of Kang in the final episode of Loki Season 1, in which one of his many Variants, He Who Explains, divulged his true intentions with the Time Variance Authority. Once Sylvie killed him, the Multiverse went into complete and utter chaos, setting up all of his time-and-space-traveling shenanigans that will throw the franchise for a loop over the next couple of years.
Thanks to Marvel's panel celebrating Loki's second round of episodes next year, fans know that Jonathan Majors' supervillain will once again play a role in the God of Mischief's story with the first footage shown at Comic-Con for Season 2. Following that and the trailer for Ant-Man 3, Loki leading man Tom Hiddleston shared just how excited he is to see more conquering in the Multiverse Saga.
Tom Hiddleston Celebrates Kang's Arrival
During Marvel Studios' presentation at the D23 Fan Expo, the cast of Marvel's Loki Season 2 touched on the footage shown from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, specifically featuring Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.
Star Tom Hiddleston mentioned that he recognized the face from Loki Season 1, with Sylvie actress Sophia Di Martino remembering how her character killed him. This led Hiddleston to wish Ant-Man 3 stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly luck in facing him next year:
Hiddleston: “I also saw from backstage I saw the Quantumania footage and I recognized one of the faces in it.”
Di Martino: “Yeah. Me too. I thought I killed that dude.”
Hiddleston: “I think maybe a variant of that dude, potentially. That I know anyway. So I just want to say Paul, Evangeline: Good luck with that. Just don’t let him into the TVA.”
The D23 trailer for Ant-Man 3 showed Kang having imprisoned Scott Lang and his daughter, Cassie, asking them to help him pull off some kind of job. Scott doesn't agree to the deal at first, leading to Kang showing off just a taste of his power by throwing Ant-Man against a wall easily.
The first look at Loki Season 2 once again featured the conqueror, as Kang was seen all over the walls of the Time Variance Authority headquarters. The God of Mischief tries to warn everybody about the threat that Kang poses, just as he did in the final moments of Season 1.
In a chat with Stage Right Secrets, MCU newcomer Ke Huy Quan also discussed how much fun he's had being a part of the series.
Having "watched all the MCU movies" before joining Loki, he revealed that he's been a big Marvel fan for a long time, specifically mentioning the first season of Loki as well. Confirming that he's "in the thick of shooting" at the moment, he and Hiddleston agreed that filming has been a blast:
Quan: “You know, it’s incredible. I’ve watched all the MCU movies. Just been a fan of MCU for many years. And to be able to join, you know, to be a member of the MCU and especially because I’m a big fan of Loki Season 1. So to be able to do this, it’s been incredible. And honestly, we’re in the thick of shooting right now in London, and we’re having such a fun time.”
Hiddleston: “Having a great time, yeah.”
Hiddleston also teased how much he gets to explore Loki with so many new people in Season 2, calling it "a continued honor" to continue playing the role after so many years:
“Loki is such a complex character with such depth and range. And when I work with new artists, and new actors, and new directors, new writers, and new teams, there’s always more to explore in the character, it seems. Perhaps that’s why the character has been around in our imaginations for so long. So yeah, it’s a continued honor to get to keep playing him and find new chords to play in the symphony.”
Kang Ready to Conquer the Multiverse Saga
With the MCU having already endured the wrath of Thanos in the Infinity Saga, there have been some questions about who would be the next mega-big bad for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Well, from what Tom Hiddleston has seen, it's becoming clear that Jonathan Majors' Kang is ready to take on the responsibility of that mantle vigorously in the coming months.
Ant-Man 3 will be the first time that fans see the prime version of Kang as he travels through the Multiverse to face off against Ant-Man, the Wasp, Stature, and the tiny family of Avengers. With the plot leaks from D23 teasing the idea of a bargain being made between hero and villain, there is sure to be more than one interesting plot thread as Kang exerts his true power over Earth-616 and the rest of the Multiverse.
This will also be the first stepping stone toward Kang stepping into that true big antagonist role, as he will be the Avengers' core enemy in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty about two and a half years after Ant-Man 3. But that doesn't mean that he won't be a force to be reckoned with in the biggest solo movie yet for Scott Lang and his team.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will debut in theaters on February 17, 2023. Loki Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ summer 2023.
