Thanks to some early concept art released today, we have a much better idea of how Jonathan Majors will look as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. But it turns out that Majors won’t be only one giving Scott Lang’s family a hard time. During Marvel Studios’ Comic-Con announcements, the studio screened exclusive footage from the upcoming sequel for the crowd gathered in Hall H. The reel notably included the familiar oversized head of the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, better known as M.O.D.O.K.
Shockingly, Marvel didn’t bring out the actor playing M.O.D.O.K. in the film. Regardless, his arrival has been a long time coming, and Quantumania will mark the character’s official live-action debut when it opens next year. In the comics, M.O.D.O.K. was also the leader of Advanced Idea Mechanics (or A.I.M., for short). But this organization already exists in the MCU as the brainchild of Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) from Iron Man 3.
M.O.D.O.K. has actually enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the last two years. In 2020, he appeared in video game form as the main villain in Marvel’s Avengers. The following summer, Patton Oswalt brought the character to life in his own stop-motion animated series on Hulu. Unfortunately, Hulu cancelled the show back in May.
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If the stars aligned differently, however, M.O.D.O.K. could have shown up in the MCU as early as 2014. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely previously revealed in 2011 that they wanted George Tarleton’s alter-ego to star in what eventually became Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They also had their eye on Peter Dinklage for the role. But once the writers decided to move the focus onto Bucky Barnes and Hydra, they abandoned these plans. Dinklage later showed up as Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War in 2018. Similarly, Oswalt just appeared as Pip the Troll in Eternals, which would (in theory, at least) rule out both actors for M.O.D.O.K. consideration. But since Marvel has double-dipped in their casting pool before, who knows what could happen?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will hit theaters on February 17, 2023.
Who do you think is playing M.O.D.O.K. in the film? Tell us your theories in the comment section below!
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