Jonathan Majors on Kang the Conqueror: ‘The superpower of living’

The actor who plays the time-travelling antagonist in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, says Kang is a force to be reckoned with because he is familiar, and also quite out there 

If you have ever wondered what music one of the greatest villains in the MCU, (which is the universe for all practical purposes) listens to, Jonathan Majors has the answer. The 33-year-old actor, who plays Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, says with a laugh, “Hold on a second. I’m going to give you the real deal.”

Brandishing his phone, on a video call from Sydney, Jonathan says, “I’m going to give you the top tracks on this playlist. There is ‘9mm’ by Power-Haus, ‘The Landlord Is Dead’ by Do Make Say Think, Stevie Wonder’s ‘If It’s Magic’ and ‘Monster’ by Kanye West. There are 88 tracks on Kang’s playlist but these would be the particular songs that would strike fear in the hearts of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and the Pym family.”

Quantumania is the third Ant-Man movie following Ant-Man (2015), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and the 31st film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Describing the Langs (Scott and his daughter, Cassie played by Kathryn Newton) and the Pyms — Hank (Michael Douglas), his wife, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), and their daughter Hope, (Evangeline Lilly), as the core family, Jonathan says, “They are the nuclear family of the MCU. We’ve watched them grow, mature, challenge one another and negotiate their circumstances. Regardless of where we come from, we all understand family.”

The time-traveling Kang has taken over from Thanos, who according to Jonathan had the benefit of being a singular character. “He challenged the Avengers as one entity. Kang, on the other hand, is one single being multiple times over. There are multiple versions of him that the MCU has to contend with.”

There is also the fact, the Lovecraft Country actor says, that Kang is human. “There is something about the superpower of living, being a regular flesh-and-blood human being that allows for a certain level of danger and risk that is relatable. Kang is someone to be reckoned with primarily because he is so familiar, but also quite out there.”

While Kang is a variant of He Who Remains from the series, Loki, the two characters are different. As an actor, Jonathan says, he is always dealing with multiple characters, at the same time. “When someone asks me how are they different, I ask what’s the difference between Loki and Ant-Man.”

The difference between He Who Remains and Kang is the dissonance, Majors says. “He Who Remains ran around in a robe and sandals and Kang the Conqueror is in full on futuristic militaristic gear. They are on different missions in different worlds.”