Jonathan Majors, who has already had a strong showing this summer in both Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods and HBO’s hit horror series Lovecraft Country, has landed a lead role in the Marvel Studios’ upcoming Ant-Man 3.
According to Deadline, the as-yet-announced role could feature him as the comics villain Kang, though they note their sources are only saying it is “likely.”
Marvel Studios had no comment.
As a comics character, Kang was first introduced into the Marvel Comics Universe in 1964 in Avengers #8. A time-traveling despotic ruler from the far future, he originally journeyed back in time to fight with the Avengers and is defeated in part by Ant-Man’s partner, the Wasp. Over the years, various writers have retconned Kang’s origins somewhat, giving his storyline a number of twists that bend back on themselves.
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily are returning to the franchise to once again play Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, aka Ant-Man and the Wasp. Peyton Reed will be returning to direct a script by writer Jeff Loveness.
Of course, when Marvel adapts characters from their comics, the will make changes based on the different storytelling needs of film and comics. But given that the first Ant-Man film set-up the idea of alternate dimension “Quantum Realms” which was followed up somewhat in Avengers: Endgame as a place that would allow time travel, having Kang showing up in the third Ant-Man film does seem like a natural fit for the character.
But Kang has usually been presented as a high threat level character, one that usually needs the combined might of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four to take down. On that front, he seems like an odd choice for the more lighthearted Ant-Man films. Unless, of course, this is just the first of a number of appearances that the character may be making across the MCU.
There is no word as to when Ant-Man 3 will start shooting.
No release date has been announced for a third Ant-Man film, though given Marvel’s currently announced release slate, the earliest it would most likely be released in late 2022.
