While Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania focused heavily on Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror, the movie’s writer Jeff Loveness shared that “there was a lot more Kang” left on the threequel’s cutting room floor.
After Ant-Man 3‘s release, the movie still made headlines when Loveness shared what Kang-centric scenes were supposed to be included but didn’t make the cut.
The MCU writer confirmed that backstory sequences that further fleshed out Kang were removed from the film, but Loveness noted that those scenes were “probably better served” for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Moreover, alternate and much creepier designs of the villain were ultimately rejected as well.
Why Did Ant-Man 3 Deleted Kang’s Backstory?
In an interview with Backstory Magazine, Ant-Man 3 scribe Jeff Loveness talked about the threequel’s deleted scenes involving Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror.
When asked if he had an idea that was not even filmed in the movie, the Avengers 5 writer said that there were “plenty,” noting that “some” of those were Kang-centric while confirming that he will use them in The Kang Dynasty:
“Oh yeah, plenty. Some of these I might use for ‘Kang’… there was a lot more Kang in a lot of different ways. I don’t know how much I can say, some of it is just going to be in ‘Avengers.'”
Loveness also admitted that placing those scenes that centered on Kang’s backstory “could have slowed the pace” of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania:
“There was a lot more Kang backstory, a lot more Kang lore that didn’t get in there that we thought was maybe distracting or better served in an Avengers movie. Who beat him? What happened? The pitch in general was: What happens when Julius Caesar is assassinated by fifty Julius Caesars? I do think that is really cool, but I do think that could have slowed the pace of the movie.”
In a past interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Loveness also confirmed that they removed the film’s original ending where Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne ended up being stuck in the Quantum Realm to avoid repeating a plot point from 2019’s Avengers: Endgame:
“That was all stuff we debated, and on paper, it seemed thrilling. But at the end of the day, we’d literally be copying the exact same beat from the end of the last ‘Ant-Man’ movie. There also weren’t a lot of ways to go that were different from ‘Endgame.’ If Scott gets trapped in the Quantum Realm like he does in the last movie’s ending, then the only way to go is that he gets out of the Quantum Realm like he does in ‘Endgame’.'”
Why Avengers 5 Needs Kang’s Backstory Even More
While it’s unfortunate that fans didn’t see an early glimpse at Kang’s backstory, those scenes, as Jeff Loveness pointed out, are better suited in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty instead.
This would be fitting, considering that the MCU scribe already confirmed that Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is the unsurprising protagonist of Avengers 5. Loveness already noted how Kang’s “got to be his own hero” as he goes on his own crusade throughout the Multiverse.
The scenes may include how Kang became fascinated with the Multiverse ultimately leading to sequences of how he conquered other worlds that made him earn the title of the ‘Conqueror.’
No matter how twisted it would be, seeing Kang’s backstory would allow fans to understand his motivations before his eventual battle with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is still playing in theaters worldwide.
