Paul Rudd has teased the brilliant work ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaco-star Jonathan Majors, with the Marvel actor excited to bring the talents of Major into the MCU fray. Majors will enter theAnt-Manfranchise as the villainous Kang the Conqueror, and while audiences won’t get to see this cinematic delight until 2023, the actor has already won over Rudd.
“I’ve loved everything he’s done, and I see what he’s doing in this, and I’m knocked out by it. It is really fun to bring new people into the fold, and the enthusiasm that people have is palpable.”
Lovecraft CountrystarJonathan Majorshas already made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not as the character he will play inAnt-Man and the Wasp:Quantumania. Introduced in the final episode of Marvel’s Disney+ seriesLoki, Majors is introduced as one of the many variants of Kang, known as He Who Remains, a scientist from the 31st Century who created the Time Variance Authority to monitor the timeline and prevent a multiversal war between evil variants of himself. Of course, thanks to the actions of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie, this solution has now come to an end, allowing the variant, including Kang the Conqueror, to wreak havoc.
Majors has already impressed with his wild, intense performance as He Who Remains, so no doubt unleashing him in full-on villain mode will be a sight to behold. ClearlyPaul Ruddseems to think so, with theAnt-Manstar revealing that Majors work so far has left him feeling “knocked out.” Presumably in a good way.
So, what of Kang the Conqueror. First appearing inThe Avengers#8 in 1964, Kang was created by Marvel legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While there have been several different versions of Kang over the years, the most well-known version is named Nathaniel Richards, who is born in the 30th century of Earth-6311 and a future descendant ofThe Fantastic Fourleader Reed Richards a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic. Described as a “time-traveling, multiversal adversary,” and has been described byLokihead writer Michael Waldron as the “next big cross-movie villain” for the MCU.
Rudd is not the only star ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaeager for audiences to see Kang’s debut, withJonathan Majors himself hyping upthe villain’s entrance. “I guess afterThe Last Black Man in San Francisco[I caught their attention],” Major said of winning the Marvel role. “I can’t say it was that film at all. The Marvel team have their ways. It’s very much like getting a role in drama school They’re just watching. You don’t audition for roles. You get into drama school, then the dean will watch what you’re doing. If they wanted you, you get tapped. That’s kind of what happened. Every character is different, [so this portrayal differs from Loki]. It’s wicked [shooting the movie]. I can’t wait for people to see it. Come on, bring it!”
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniais scheduled to be released in the United Statesmovie theaterson July 28, 2025, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. This comes to us fromVariety. The fan art above comes fromSPDRMNKYXXIII on Instagram.
