The latest Ant-Man movie will give audiences their first proper look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next big bad, Kang the Conqueror — perhaps its most complex villain to date.
Since Thanos was dusted in 2019's End Game, Marvel has teased the arrival of Kang, played by Jonathan Majors.
Majors appeared in the finale of Marvel TV series Loki as a variant of the character on a different timeline, known as He Who Remains.
In an ABC interview, Majors compared Kang to historical figures like Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon.
"You have all the conquerors, kings, dictators that ever touched society. These are bad guys," Majors said.
"You look at those things and try to find the things that are similar and then you add the art to it, which makes Kang transcend … these ideas of these very base and boring dictators, transcends this idea of those who have colonised and did all these terrible things."
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will see the shrinking hero swept up in a new adventure in a tiny dimension called the Quantum Realm where he and his family run into Kang.
Majors told the ABC that playing Kang is a huge responsibility and honour.
"Something like the cinematic universe of Marvel has a greater obligation (to representation) because of the impact it has on the culture in America and abroad. This thing touches everybody," he said.
"I'm a young black man playing a franchise player. Kang is a franchise player in this next phase.
"I think we just keep doubling down and growing it up because we planted some really good seeds."
'He's like a professional athlete'
Casting for Majors, who previously starred in HBO's Lovecraft Country, was announced in late 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.
Paul Rudd, who is reprising the role for the fifth time, joked that he had some concerns when he was told he'd be playing opposite Jonathan Majors in the latest instalment.
"I had people phoning me saying 'dude, did you see that guy's Men's Health Cover?'" Paul Rudd told ABC News.
"And I said, 'I saw the real thing, I know what he looks like'. He's like a professional athlete and then some."
Aside from the introduction of Kang, the third instalment in the Ant-Man series will also focus on family relationships, especially those between Rudd's Scott Lang/Ant-Man, and his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton).
For Rudd, playing a father was relatable.
"I think that some of it is innate. I know what it's like to be a dad and have a daughter," he said.
"There's some things that I maybe will pull that's specific.
"I understand what it's like to just kind of want to be a dad and hang with your kid and also have your kid just think … 'come on dad' and have that kind of attitude. That's real."
Mix-up causes eye-watering smell
During filming for Quantumania, some of the cast and crew had to endure at least a few days' worth of shooting in dirt and manure after a production mix-up.
In the scene, freedom fighters go up against an adversary in the quantum realm. It required mounds of dirt on set.
"So we get there on Monday and we walk onto the stage and we're ready to rehearse and it smells terrible, " said director Peyton Reed.
"And whoever this company was … they accidentally, instead of just dirt, it was dirt and manure, so the entire set … your eyes were watering, you could barely function, much less direct a massive crazy Marvel movie.
"And they're like 'No, no, no, no, they're gonna get that cleaned up' or whatever.
"But like, for two or three days, we had to work in this environment and it made us all crazy, which fuelled the movie in a positive way, ultimately."
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens in Australia cinemas on February 16 and kicks off the fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
