While critics and regular folks seem to be of dissimilar minds about the latest Marvel Studios film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, one thing that hasn’t been up for debate was the performance of Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Majors’ performance was so good and so well done that he’s been the talk of the town. Majors compared Marvel to Shakespeare and brought that approach with him to the set. It’s been Majors’ ability to play so many different variations of Kang along the way that has earned him the well-earned praise. So, why was half the movie missing its greatest asset?
Say what you will about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s story and the way they chose to focus on Scott’s story rather than Kang, but it’s perfectly in-line with Marvel giving their other major heroes a final film dedicated to their loved-ones and family. Iron Man 3 focused on Tony and Pepper’s relationship, and pretty much everything thereafter did, as well. Captain America: Civil War was largely focused on the only family Steve had left in Bucky and Peggy. Both Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder focused on Thor’s relationship with his family, as did his venture in Avengers: Endgame. Hell, his fourth film featured his actual daughter as a central character. The point here is that most of the film focusing on Scott’s relationships isn’t exactly a new or different thing Marvel was trying.
If you ask me, I think the thing that stood out the most to me was that the film went from being largely centered around San Francisco and a little bit of the Quantum Realm to being entirely set in the Quantum Realm and being almost completely CGI with even the surroundings having a more CGI feel than actual architecture. Quantumania felt very green screen, large, and detached while the Ant-Man franchise has always had a more intimate feel. Once you take that away, the entire presentation is then received differently and I think we’re seeing that reflected in the disparate scores. But it was necessary to give Scott his chance to wrap things up while setting up Kang to be the villain he’s going to be and I also think Marvel has other plans for Kang.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
We know that Victor Timely appears in Loki season 2 thanks to the second post-credit scene of the film. We also know that Peyton Reed had nothing to do with this shot and that it was filmed as part of the second season, with that particular scene’s director likely being revealed when the show releases in the middle of this year. Given how often Kang and the TVA cross paths, having the majority of Kang’s story told through Loki seems like the best bet for giving it the time, space, and attention it deserves. This is supposed to be a villain that poses a greater threat than Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after all. If you’re setting that story up, do you choose to tell it in the light-hearted and family-friendly franchise you’ve developed with Ant-Man in only about an hour and forty-five minutes or do you take that story to the more serious Loki show and devote much of the six episodes, a total length of about five and half hours, to this villain? The choice seems easy to me.
Taking this logic a step further, the base of Kang’s story and motivation has already lain and established. Not only do we have Ravonna Renslayer in the show, but we had He Who Remains, the TVA, and now Victor Timely. With all of that groundwork established, why would you take up valuable time and space for what will likely be the final film in the Ant-Man franchise and give it to someone else, especially when every other big name has been given their proper sendoff. It might suck for the story, but it’s definitely in keeping with tradition and the fact that Loki can deliver it with more assets, but also with more time just makes it the best option.
Kane Webb is an entertainment journalist for @BSO and @TheMarvelReport. He also writes about the USC Trojans for @AthlonSports and has been featured on @FanSided, @Scout, @Rivals, the Bakersfield Californian, Wisconsin State Journal, and much more. You can follow him on Twitter: @FightOnTwist