As we approach the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, director Peyton Reed is opening up about the introduction to the latest iconic Marvel villain.
Speaking to EW, Reed talks about how difficult it was to craft the Quantum Realm, which required the creation of an “incredibly complex subatomic world, and all the environments and ecosystems and creatures and beings that inhabit that world.” Currently living in the Quantum Realm is Kang the Conqueror, the new Avengers-level threat played by Jonathan Majors.
While Majors made his MCU debut in season one of Loki as the Kang variant He Who Remains, Reed will be the first filmmaker to explore Kang properly. Reed opened up about his history with Kang and how it applies to what he is doing here.
“I grew up a real Marvel comics nerd, and there are a handful of antagonists in the Marvel comics universe who are all-timers. Loki, obviously. Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four. And Kang the Conqueror,” says Reed. “In conversations with Kevin Feige and Marvel, it was like, I want to put Ant-Man and Wasp up against a really formidable villain in this movie, and so we’re doing Kang the Conqueror.”
He adds, “In the comics, Kang has dominion over time; he’s a time traveler. His situation is a little bit different in this movie, which I won’t spoil for you, but he’s someone who, [while] we live very linear lives, from childhood to death, Kang doesn’t exist that way. It struck me as interesting to take the tiniest Avengers – in some people’s minds, maybe the least powerful Avengers – and put them up against the most powerful force in the multiverse.”
The film will kick off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, continuing The Multiverse Saga as we heard towards Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2026).
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet Van Dyne), Randall Park (Jimmy Woo), Corey Stoll (Darren Cross/Yellowjacket), Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang), Jonathan Majors (Kang the Conqueror), Bill Murray (Krylar), and William Jackson Harper.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set for release on February 17th, 2023.
