Who’s playing M.O.D.O.K in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’?

A new character is set to join Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly for the upcoming third instalment in the Ant-Man franchise.

A San Diego Comic-Con trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania teased the introduction of two major baddies into the MCU: Kang the Conqueror and a strange, box-headed villain that goes by M.O.D.O.K. Details about the surprise character are still bare, but fans immediately seized upon the footage, and chatter surrounding it, and began to theorize about his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Who’s playing M.O.D.O.K in the MCU?

At the same announcement — in which M.O.D.O.K and Kang were teased — stars from the MCU’s previous and future releases showed up to greet fans. One such newcomer was a welcome sight, and provided fans with plenty of theory fodder when he revealed that he has an upcoming role in the colossal media franchise.

Bill Murray made an appearance during the very first trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in an as-yet undisclosed role. The beloved actor cropped up at the very end of the trailer, teasing audiences with a line about Janet Van Dyne and her time in the Quantum Realm, and immediately sparked a wave of theories.

He’s currently a favorite for the role of M.O.D.O.K, a former Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) employee who was transfigured following exposure to a mutagenic medical experimentation that twisted his body into the form comic fans are familiar with, and aided in greatly increasing the man formerly known as George Tarleton’s intelligence. It also made his head far too large for his body, and necessitated use of a floating chair so the character can move. Emerging from the experiment with massively increased intelligence and massively increased head size, Tarleton changed his name to Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, or M.O.D.O.K.

Rumors about when the character will enter the MCU — and who will portray him when he does — have been swirling for months. Initial reports hinted that Jim Carrey may step into the role, lending his star power and slapstick skill to the MCU. New rumors are placing Murray in the role instead, thanks in large part to his involvement in the trailer, and fans are broadly delighted at the prospect. A few other options have cropped up as well, with big stars like Corey Stoll and Patton Oswalt both being named as potentials for the role.

Corey Stoll already appeared in an Ant-Man movie, providing Scott with motivation as the first film’s primary villain. He played Doctor Darren Cross, Hank Pym’s former protégé who eventually takes on the moniker of Yellowjacket. He and Lang’s battle at the end of the film resulted in Cross being shrunk down to a sub-atomic level and lost in the Quantum Realm, but that doesn’t mean the character is gone for good. He could certainly crop back up in the Quantum Realm, or potentially outside of his former prison, if he gets some help in escaping. It’s reasonable to think that help could come in the form of Kang or a similarly powerful master, but the chances that Stoll — who already played a major villain — will return as a completely different villain are somewhat more slim. He was great as Cross, but he’s already had his moment in the MCU spotlight. It’s more likely that a new actor will debut as the mammoth-headed villain.

Oswalt has been loudly expressing his deep desire to join the MCU for years now. He finally saw this dream realized in a minor moment at the end of Eternals, in which me made a brief appearance as Pip the Troll in a post-credits scene. Unlike Stoll, however, his role was small enough to allow plenty of room for another Oswalt appearance in the MCU. He could be a wonderful choice for M.O.D.O.K, lending name-recognition, stellar comedic chops, and a longtime love of comics to the MCU team.

Then there’s Murray. His appearance in the Quantumania trailer obviously cements him as an addition to the film, but the role he’ll play has yet to be announced. This is prompting theories that Murray will take on the role of M.O.D.O.K, joining Kang in his sinister machinations. As one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, Murray would be an excellent pick for the role, potentially providing a performance on-par with Jeff Goldblum’s stellar Grandmaster from Thor: Ragnarok.

Regardless of who takes on the role, audiences can hardly contain their excitement at the official confirmation that M.O.D.O.K is headed to the MCU. The character doesn’t present the same tantalizing apprehension as characters like Kang, who is poised as the MCU’s next Thanos-level threat, but he’s got heaps of potential as a different breed of longstanding villain. It seems likely that M.O.D.O.K will be approached with a certain level of comedy, balanced alongside his sinister potential. This makes picks like Murray or Oswalt seem all the more likely, allowing them to lend some humor and levity to Marvel’s sometimes serious plots.