It’s hard to imagine a character like M.O.D.O.K. appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, a cartoon starring the big-headed supervillain presents endless comedic opportunities, especially with someone like Patton Oswalt involved. Earlier this week, Marvel announced that M.O.D.O.K. will be one of five Marvel characters headlining (or co-headlining) their own Hulu animated series. Following this news, Oswalt spoke to Marvel.com about his excitement for the upcoming show.
“I could not be more excited for you guys to see what we do with M.O.D.O.K.,” said Oswalt. “He’s the character I was, sadly, born to play.”
Oswalt is co-executive producing M.O.D.O.K. with Community and American Dad veteran Jordan Blum, who offered his own thoughts on the series. “Who is M.O.D.O.K. to me? Well, you have to start at his creation,” said Blum. “I find M.O.D.O.K. to be just as iconic as all the other classic Jack Kirby / Stan Lee collaborations. Kirby’s design is the stuff of nightmares yet he’s also somehow… slightly adorable?”
RELATED: Marvel and Hulu Partner For Four Animated Series
“Stan Lee wrote him as this amazing flawed character, always being undone by his inflated ego and thin skin,” added Blum. “Over the years he’s been portrayed as both a menace and a joke and I think our show is much more interested in exploring him as a human being. A human being who’s also a Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing! At the end of the day M.O.D.O.K. is a giant-headed, petulant, insecure, egomaniac with zero social skills. And I for one find that incredibly relatable.”
M.O.D.O.K. actually came pretty close to making his live-action debut in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In 2011, co-screenwriter Christopher Markus told MTV that he wanted Peter Dinklage to play the role in the then-unnamed sequel. Instead, Dinklage went on to appear as Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War.
Other Marvel projects on Hulu’s animated slate include Hit-Monkey, Tigra & Dazzler Show, and Howard the Duck. Just like Marvel’s Netflix shows, the characters will eventually cross paths for a Defenders-parodying special event called The Offenders. Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb will executive produce each new series.
Are you excited about Patton Oswalt and Jason Blum’s plans to bring M.O.D.O.K. to two-dimensional life? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
