Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to introduce Jonathan Majors' Kang to a wider audience (after a brief appearance in Loki), but the character could have been much different. Majors recently revealed that he had almost walked out of the audition process initially.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the third film in the Ant-Man trilogy, but this time Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) will face a much different challenge. Scott and his family will confront an Avengers-level enemy: Kang, who is a bigger threat than Thanos. Kang had previously appeared as He Who Remains in Loki, but He Who Remains noted that he was only a less-dangerous variant than Kang - the real threat begins in Quantumania.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Majors got candid about the audition process for Kang. “I hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass, but I walked out of my Marvel general [meeting],” Majors revealed. “This was a long time ago. I had just gotten out of drama school, and I’m running around town, and I’m sitting in the office. I grew up in a very particular way and I don’t want to waste nobody’s time. So I got in there and they’re just busy. And I was like, ‘I’m supposed to be here, right?’ It got long, and I went, ‘I’m just going to go. It’s cool. I’ll just go.'”
Luckily, news of casting director Sarah Finn's arrival came before Majors left the building. The two of them had a "great conversation," and Majors was offered the part of Kang three years later, presumably a short time before Majors was cast as a Kang variant in Loki. It appears to have paid off for Marvel because although Ant-Man and the Wasp:Quantumania is receiving some negative reviews, some praise has been reserved for Majors' performance as Kang, which is being commended in many reviews.
Majors has revealed that he studied Tom Hiddleston's performance before Loki and Rudd's performance as Scott Lang. Majors wanted to get into his character's mind; since Kang is intimately familiar with many Avengers variants, he would know what makes each of them tic. That level of insight reveals what calibre of actor Majors, and his performance is insightful and embodies the character of Kang.
While Ant-Man and the Wasp:Quantumania features a Kang trapped in the Quantum Realm, he'll likely be out before long. He's the overarching villain of the Multiverse Saga, and the next Avengers film is subtitled The Kang Dynasty. With Majors at the helm, it's clear the Avengers have the fight of their lives ahead of them.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now in theaters.
Source: Vanity Fair
