How Jonathan Majors' Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania differs from Loki 's He Who Remains

Since Avengers: Endgame, a question has hung over the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Who will succeed Thanos as the franchise's overarching supervillain? All signs point to it being Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, a character whose place in the MCU still remains unclear.

Studious fans have already seen Majors' Kang in the season 1 finale of Loki. He recently appeared again in the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which he will reportedly play a large role. But don't be fooled: The Kang in Quantumania is different from the Kang in Loki (where he was known as He Who Remains). Variants, remember?

"Kang The Conqueror in our movie is a very different character," Quantumania director Peyton Reed told Empire in a new interview. "He's someone who has dominion over time, and he's a warrior and a strategist." Contrast this with Loki's depiction of Kang as a motormouthed charmer.

Marvel Studios; Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' is different than He Who Remains in 'Loki.'

Well, if Kang's such a big deal, then why is he pitted against Marvel's most diminutive superhero — Paul Rudd's Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man? Good question!

"That's interesting to me: to take the tiniest, and in some people's minds weakest, Avenger, and put them up against this absolute force of nature," Reed said.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to hit theaters on Feb. 17, 2023 as the first film of the MCU's Phase Five. Disney also has Avengers: The Kang Dynasty slated for 2025. Jeff Loveness, who penned the Quantumania screenplay, is also writing that script, so expect lots of connective tissue between the two films.

Kang isn't the only character who will seem different in Quantumania. Scott's daughter Cassie Lang will now be played by Kathryn Newton, after previously being portrayed by Abby Ryder Fortson and Emma Fuhrmann. They grow up so fast!

Read the full interview via Empire.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer teases big trouble in the MCU

• Director Peyton Reed teases scope of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: 'We went big and we also went small'

• James Gunn teases 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' at Comic-Con: Adam Warlock, Rocket's origin, more