With less than a month remaining until Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters, Marvel faces the Herculean task of following up Thanos with a new kind of MCU big-bad, one who can put the next generation of Avengers to the ultimate test in 2025. Having a widely acclaimed actor like Jonathan Majors bring that character to life is definitely one way to ensure that he leaves an impact. But when the time came to write the screenplay, Jeff Loveness had to think of other ways to make him stand out.
Loveness compared Majors’ Kang the Conqueror to Josh Brolin’s Thanos in a recent interview with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar+). On one hand, there are plenty of similarities between the characters–both have backstories rooted in a variety of fantastical elements. However, Loveness reminds us how there’s one key difference that sets Kang apart from the Mad Titan.
“To me it’s all about the humanity,” said Loveness. “Obviously Thanos is a great, iconic villain, but he’s also a big purple CGI guy. He’s an alien from outer space. The thing I really wanted to lean into is that Kang is a human being.”
Additionally, Loveness suggested that despite being the film’s antagonist, audiences may find themselves feeling sorry for Majors’ supervillain. “Kang’s also a very lonely character,” he continued. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of him in a lot of different ways going forward, but I really wanted to introduce the humanity and even the vulnerability of this character before he gets to such apocalyptic, Avengers-scale heights.”
RELATED: Jonathan Majors Talks Even More Kang Inspirations
Beyond Quantumania, Loveness is also writing the script for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the first of two new Avengers films that Marvel currently has in the works for Phase 6. Surprisingly, he even suggested that Kang will pose a much greater threat in those movies than Thanos did throughout the Infinity Saga.
“Kang is a top-tier, A-list Avengers villain,” noted Loveness. “What do you do when you feel you’re not enough against that? How do you step up to face the challenge of this generation, who is Thanos on an exponential level? He’s almost this infinite Thanos. I think we’re setting things up for a pretty dynamic story. As I’m building to Avengers I want it to feel like a generational struggle. Phase 4 felt like the birth of new characters. You’re giving everyone a little bit of a breath, you’re broadening out the universe, you have fun Disney+ shows that are elevating characters. And now I think it’s time to put the pedal to the gas again, and really take all these new characters that we like and throw them into the fire.”
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens on February 17.
Do you think Kang can surpass Thanos as Marvel’s deadliest villain? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Astonishing Ant-Man: The Complete Collection
We are also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program also provides a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
