It will be difficult for the MCU to replace Thanos, one of the most recognizable villains in movie history. Actor Kang from Avengers 5 has explained how he plans to fill the void left by Josh Brolin’s beloved supervillain.
For Marvel Studios, the death of the vengeful titan in the hugely successful Avengers: Endgame has left a huge void. Fans have been waiting impatiently for the MCU’s Phase 5 to reach the heights of the Infinity Saga, and with Kang the Conqueror’s threat to the Multiverse, the stakes are set to be higher than ever.
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang will officially make his MCU debut after first appearing in Loki on Disney+. He will emerge as the MCU’s next major antagonist, and after Phase 4 received a mixed response, he should give the MCU some direction.
Later, Kang will play the lead role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, where both modern and historical heroes will encounter his Multiversal threat.
Strong New MCU Threat is Teased by the Actor Kang from Avengers 5
In Phase 5 of the MCU, actor Jonathan Majors of He Who Remains explained how he intends to take on the enduring Thanos of the Infinity Saga.
In a candid interview for the Canadian television network CinePop, Majors discussed how it feels to be Thanos’ successor after Brolin’s acclaimed portrayal of the villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At first, he calls Brolin’s performance “incredible big bad” and attributes Marvel’s ability to launch Phase 5 to his work as an actor.
Majors cautioned that he tries to avoid drawing comparisons between Kang and Thanos in his subsequent statement. It’s a completely different world, he emphasized, and both my assignment and Kang’s character have changed.
What exactly are you expecting me to say? Listen, I think Thanos was a fantastic big bad and we’re only in this phase now because of how well he performed. Josh Brolin did a fantastic job capturing him on screen. I make an effort [not to compare] Kang to Thanos. But it’s an entirely new world. That’s a completely different world, I’ll admit. I have a different task. Additionally, Kang has a distinct personality. Therefore, it will be unique. As for the fear, intimidation, and power factor, we’ll let the movie demonstrate that.
Despite their differences, Kang and Thanos are expected to have similar levels of intimidation and power. During the Infinity Saga, Thanos introduced these traits to the MCU. Majors refrained from divulging much more, suggesting that viewers “will have to let the movie show” how terrifying Kang will be for the MCU.
Naturally, any intimidation and fear won’t be comparable because Kang brings a unique energy to the MCU, according to Loki writer Michael Waldron.
After calling Majors “a hell of an actor and a hell of a performer” and emphasizing that he will bring “a totally different energy than what Thanos is,” Loki writer Michael Waldron made the following remarks.
“I mean, he’s a hell of a performer and an actor. You may have heard him say, “If you think I’m evil, wait until you meet my Variants,” in the show. We’ll see, then.
The fun part of being able to create that character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was kind of developing a totally different energy from that of Thanos, who is measured and principled with almost monk-like intentions for evil. Of course, He Who Remains is a much more erratic, disorganized, and narcissistic presence. That was therefore a lot of fun.
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What threat to the Multiverse Saga will Kang present?
While Thanos introduced the Infinity Saga to a brutal, occasionally even sadistic threat, Kang’s more “monk-like” demeanor will undoubtedly be a change of pace.
However, unlike Thanos, who boasted invulnerability, and Loki, the master of mischief, Kang does not possess any special abilities, at least not in Marvel Comics. Instead, as seen in the Quantumania trailer, he is outfitted with weapons and armor from the year 31.
Additionally well-known for his many variations, Kang poses a serious threat to humanity due to his propensity for time travel. He aspires to rewrite history in order to establish himself as the world’s legitimate ruler in Marvel Comics.
Most importantly, the character has been portrayed in countless different ways. If one version is unsuccessful, a second one hides in the shadows.
Let’s assume that Doctor Strange’s calculations from Infinity War are accurate. If so, Kang could exist in at least “fourteen million, six hundred and five” different forms. Of course, Marvel is unlikely to depict Kang the Conqueror in more than fourteen million different ways. At least that many alternate realities and time periods highlight how challenging the supervillain may be to stop.
Kang is therefore a particularly elusive foe, and viewers already encountered one variation in the Loki finale. Future iterations of Kang, however, are not likely to be as kind-hearted as He Who Remains. The stakes will be higher than ever thanks to Majors’ time-traveling antagonist, who forces the Avengers to deal with his cross-universe threat.
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