Jonathan Majors made an instant impact when he showed up for his surprise Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Loki‘s season 1 finale, which came not long after he’d been announced as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania villain Kang the Conqueror. However, it was the Asgardian trickster’s solo series that let us know we were in the presence of the franchise’s latest Thanos-level threat.
A lot of fans questioned why an iconic antagonist such as Kang would be used in a so-called “B-tier” MCU franchise like Ant-Man, but all became clear when Majors’ He Who Remains ominously outlined that in the event of his death, countless (and much more unsavory) variants would descend upon the many alternate realities he oversaw to cause utter chaos.
Sure enough, Sylvie ended up stabbing him right through the heart, and we now find ourselves in the Multiverse Saga, which will conclude with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2025. Speaking to ComicBook after the San Diego Comic-Con panel, Kevin Feige showered his new big bad in the highest of praise.
“It comes down to the cast and with Jonathan Majors, who I think took over the Hall H stage, you know, in the three minutes he was up there. It’s amazing, and I said to him there’s nobody’s shoulders I’d rather be putting the multiverse saga on than his. It’s really impressive what Jonathan Majors is able to do and all the different incarnations, variants, if you will, of Kang that we will see him do.
It’s really pretty cool. What I love is that he’s totally different from Thanos. That he is completely different. That it’s not just how about there’s a bigger purple guy with a helmet? That’s not what Kang is. Kang is a very different type of villain and the fact that he is many, many different characters is what’s most exciting and most differentiates him.”
Majors is a phenomenal actor that’s been rocketing up the Hollywood ranks thanks to a series of stellar turns in acclaimed projects, and he’s still only 32 years old. Kang the Conqueror is in very good hands, then, which spells bad news for the MCU’s roster of heroes.