“Lovecraft Country” star Jonathan Majors has been added to the cast for the upcoming “Ant-Man 3” film and he’s playing an iconic villain from Marvel comics history…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
A new time-traveling villain is headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Jonathan Majors — who stars in the HBO series “Lovecraft Country” as well as the recent Spike Lee film “Da 5 Bloods” — has been cast in a villainous role for the upcoming “Ant-Man 3” movie from director Peyton Reed.
Majors will join a cast that also includes Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, who are returning as Ant-Man and the Wasp.
According to multiple reports, Majors will be playing a villain named Kang the Conquerer, who has deep ties to numerous characters throughout Marvel history, which means this could be a major introduction to the next huge arc in the MCU.
Kang the Conqueror — real name Nathaniel Richards — was born in the year 3000 where he studied and eventually mastered the ability to travel through time in a ship that he built. Once Kang was able to travel to whatever time in history that he wanted, the despot eventually landed in Ancient Egypt, where he conquered a kingdom and declared himself Pharaoh under the name Rama-Tut.
It was there that Kang eventually sought En Sabah Nur to be the heir to his throne. En Sabah Nur was known as the first recorded mutant in history and he later became the evil Apocalypse, who routinely opposed the X-Men.
Following his time in Egypt, Kang began traveling throughout various points in history, usually for the purpose of amassing power or taking control of those worlds where he landed.
Time and time again, Kang would eventually run into superheroes who were cunning enough to stop him as he frequently battled with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
Due to his constant stops throughout time and alternate realities, Kang started leaving behind time displaced copies of himself. In fact there are so many versions of Kangs in the history of the Marvel Universe that no one knows for certain which one is the original.
His ties to various characters runs deep including one particular storyline where it’s discovered that Iron Lad — a member of the young Avengers with a suit of armor similar to Iron Man — is actually a younger version of Kang the Conquerer.
It’s also worth noting that Kang’s true name is Nathaniel Richards, which many believe could make him a direct descendent of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards. There have also been rumors that Kang is a descendent of Doctor Doom, who he frequently runs into throughout his time-traveling exploits.
Kang has no superpowers but he uses incredibly advanced technology, which helps him battle it out with the Avengers, Fantastic Four or just about any other hero in the Marvel Universe.
Now one of the biggest reasons why Kang joining the MCU is such a game changer is because he’s not just another ordinary villain jumping into a random Marvel movie. Kang is an iconic villain with almost limitless powers through his technology not to mention the ties he carries to so many characters.
Considering Marvel is about to introduce the concept of the multiverse with the upcoming “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” not to mention “Ant-Man 3” potentially exploring a deeper understanding of the Quantum Realm, which played a major part in the time travel in “Avengers: Endgame” it could open up a world of possibilities for Kang’s introduction.
With Kang expected to first appear in “Ant-Man 3” it would seem logical that traveling through time to stop Thanos could have far reaching implications including the arrival of more villains from the future. That would be an easy way to see Kang show up from the 40th Century for the first time.
Also, because Kang has ties to the first mutant, he could possibly help to introduce the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe not to mention the connection he shares with Reed Richards and Doctor Doom, which means he could bring in the Fantastic Four as well.
There are dozens of potential scenarios where Kang’s addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge moment that could send reverberations throughout other films as mastermind Kevin Feige begins crafting his next major saga. In the wake of the “Infinity Saga,” those are some big shoes to fill but bringing in a bad guy as capable as Kang the Conquerer is a great first step towards whatever end goal he’s working towards
