The following article includes major spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Only continue at your own risk.
There has been much discussed online about the latest Marvel Studios release Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but none have been as surprisingly divisive as the film’s take on MODOK, or better known as the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. The film reveals that Darren Cross, once again played by Corey Stoll, was turned into this new creation, and writer Jeff Loveness reveals that this idea was actually from the film’s director, Peyton Reed.
I believe it was Peyton Reed’s idea to make Darren Cross into MODOK, but I immediately jumped on that and pitched real hard on it. I think we kind of built that character together.
Jeff Loveness
He highlights that he’s not sure if there truly was a version of the script written by Paul Rudd before he joined the project but confirms Reed was the man to imagine Cross as an enlarged head with tiny legs and arms. Funny enough, Loveness shared his quite vocal opinion on tacking the character the way he did.
Let me just say, the people who are divided, they’re wrong. I will go to the mat for MODOK. I am so happy. And it was such a fight. And it was such a labor of love and passion and all that, just to get the comedy balance of this guy. And hey, I’m a big comics guy, I’m sure you are, too. We’re on the internet. People got opinions. Those motherf***ers are wrong. I’m sorry, you want to do a serious take on MODOK? I played that “Avengers” game on PS5, good luck. Yeah, yeah, yeah, come back later.
Jeff Loveness
You have to respect a writer that just loves the things he brought to the page, and with a character as out there as MODOK, you have to be all-in. It’s fun to see him reference Marvel’s Avengers which offered a more “grounded” take on a character that usually was mainly a comedic foil. The character got his own animated sitcom, was a recurring joke character in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and generally is the butt of many jokes. Loveness triples down as he highlights that MODOK’s death scene was his favorite moment that he ever wrote.
Source: /Film
