Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is moving on to the first film of Phase Five with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it’s safe to assume that the whole MCU chess board is about to be shaken up big time. And what better way to shake things up than to introduce a character almost no one saw coming and someone who could have a huge impact on the future of the Guardians of the Galaxy?
Along with the new trailer, Marvel shared the cast list of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in an official statement, which included several new players. Joining Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror is David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, Bill Murray as Lord Krylar, and last but certainly not least, William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) as Quaz.
If you take a close look at the name Quaz then you’ll notice it bears a striking resemblance to the name Quasar from the Marvel Comics. As it turns out, no one by the name of Quaz exists in Marvel’s lore, but Quasar aka Wendell Vaughn, on the other hand, does.
In the comics, Quasar is a cosmic hero who gets his power from the Quantum Bands, extremely powerful accessories that, among many things, grant its wielder the ability to “Quantum Jump,” which is a form of spacetime travel – something we can see Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne being in desperate need of in the upcoming movie.
The Quantum Bands also grant its wielder the ability to become invisible, achieve superhuman strength and speed, absorb and drain life forces, and several other energy-manipulating abilities besides. Given Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings and Kamala Khan bangles, it’s not far-fetched to assume Marvel would throw another set of powerful bands into the mix.
While it’s not guaranteed that this new character Quaz is the same character as Wendell Vaughn’s Quasar from Marvel Comics – and we’re not sure why Marvel would make the name change to begin with – there’s no denying the similarities in their name and their ties to the quantum realm; it feels a little too coincidental if you ask us.
Should Quaz actually be the same character as Quasar, it’s possible that this is Marvel’s first step toward introducing audiences to the next phase of the Guardians of the Galaxy. As we know, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last movie in the franchise with the current cast. However, that doesn’t mean the group of superheroes is done for good.
Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) will make his live-action debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and since it’s extremely unlikely he’ll be relegated to just that one movie – and since he has strong ties to the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics – he could also go on to become a new member of the team. Indeed, the MCU might very well be building up an entirely new cast of superheroes right before our very eyes, starting with William Jackson Harper as Quaz. There’s only one way to find out.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres in theaters on Feb. 17 and May 5, respectively.