Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Jonathan Majors reveals an interesting inspiration for his villainous character Kang. Majors first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2021, showing up at the tail end of the Disney+ series Loki as the enigmatic He Who Remains. He Who Remains was revealed to be a variant of the ominous Kang, who will serve as the antagonist in the third installment of the Ant-Man films. Kang has appeared as a formidable and mysterious force in the trailers for the film, setting up the MCU’s next big bad.
Majors has previously addressed inspirations that he tapped into to play the Marvel villain, revealing that he revisited Ultron (James Spader), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Thanos (Josh Brolin) while crafting the character. Majors went deeper than the MCU’s canon to bolster his performance as Kang in the upcoming Ant-Man movie, diving into classic literature and looking to Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello as the sort of supervillain that he hopes to emulate in the upcoming movie. Now, the actor has told Empire Magazine (via Comicbook.com) that history played a part in shaping Kang as well, with Macedonian king Alexander the Great serving as the benchmark for the character. See Majors’ comments below:
“I met with the Loki team first. Then [Ant-Man 3 director] Peyton [Reed] came on and we had our chat for the film. He gave me a few reference points – Alexander The Great, things like that.”
How Kang Emulates Alexander the Great’s Vibes
The next MCU phases will likely see Kang at the forefront as the next big villain in the franchise. Though he and Alexander the Great obviously do not have similar histories, the two have one crucial trait in common in that both are known as conquerors. By age 30, Alexander had amassed one of the largest empires in history, which was partly due to his father having united the Greek city-states and partly because of his military prowess. The long-spanning military campaign launched by the Macedonian king resulted in the conquering of the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of the Asian continent as well as drastic cultural changes in those areas due to the spread of Greek culture.
Similarly, Kang has been referred to as ‘Kang the Conqueror,’ and his character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania starts a Multiversal War during his efforts to conquer as many worlds as possible due to his discovery of the multiverse. As He Who Remains revealed in Loki, Kang was previously successful in his efforts up to a point, until He Who Remains isolated his other self within that timeline. Based on the reference described by Majors, Kang will be ruthless in his continued goals to take control of the multiverse when he appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, serving as an extremely dangerous and capable foe.
Will Kang Become The Formidable Villain In the MCU
Kang has been positioned as a villain akin to Thanos, poised to change everything about the MCU’s upcoming phases as he threatens the beloved MCU heroes and the rest of the world. Given Majors’ own disclosure of looking at long-term MCU villains Loki and Thanos, as well as his interest in mining historical and literary figures for more reference, it’s clear that he understands the gravity and importance of his character, which will likely come through in his performance. Set to join the ranks of the MCU’s Thanos-level threats and play an even more important role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Kang will undoubtedly be a formidable adversary in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as well as the MCU going forward.
Source: Empire Magazine (via Comicbook.com)