Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Jonathan Majors has revealed how he crafted the quintessential voice for Kang The Conqueror.
In an interview with Variety, the Yale-trained actor described how he developed the voice and character of the most formidable foe in the Multiverse. He explained that his process involved him reflecting on several questions about how to portray a character who is all-knowing:
“What does a man sound like that probably speaks every language. What is your rate of speech when you control time, when you know what’s going to happen next? Things shift to embody that.”
The next step in Majors’ method involved deconstructing how Kang would relate to Ant-Man, considering Kang’s extraordinary powers and Ant-Man’s — relatively speaking, of course — normality. Majors says he imagines that Kang would take a philosophical approach. He drew inspiration from the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s book on tactical warfare.
“To be a proper antagonist, you must first know your hero. You know, ‘The Art of War,’ which is something I think Kang may have written. Understanding Scott Lang and understanding Paul Rudd was the beginning of building Kang.”
To create a believable multiversal character with the gravitas to exist as different variants in manifold realities requires tremendous skill. Majors’ iterations of Kang require the finesse to move between the villainous Conqueror, He Who Remains, and future versions of the character.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania makes it clear that his story is central to The Multiverse Saga. The stakes are high for Majors as Kang is destined to succeed Thanos as the big bad in the MCU. However, rumor has it that the California native knocks it out of the park with his performance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
MCU fans will see a lot of Kang The Conqueror as the second part of The Multiverse Saga unfolds. Majors has confirmed that he will reprise the role of the Marvel supervillain in two upcoming Marvel movies: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres on Feb. 17, 2023.