Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’s MODOK Reveals Was Peyton Reed’s Idea

    ‘Ant-Man 3’s MODOK Reveals Was Peyton Reed’s Idea

    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

  • Jonathan Majors Heavily Involved in Shaping ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    Jonathan Majors Heavily Involved in Shaping ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness got a chance to reflect on his work on the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp film. Yet, it also gave him an opportunity to tease the future of the franchise, as he’s still busy working on the script for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

    He does jokingly highlight that he’s late on his script but also teases that he’s actively working on it with confirmed director Destin Daniel Cretton, who worked on the Shang-Chi film not too long ago and has two Disney+ series on the horizon. But, he also reveals that he’s actively also having “conversations with Jonathan [Majors] about where he wants to take the character.”

    It’s hard to even say. I think I’m in the jet-lag stage of a press tour, but we’re working on it. Destin [Daniel Cretton] is incredible. I’ve had conversations with Jonathan [Majors] about where he wants to take the character, so it’s still very early days. We’ve got like 40 more movies to go before I get there, but we’ve certainly got a plan. We’re all very excited for the story that we’re laying down, so now it’s just on me and my ADHD and my procrastination and all that. So, hopefully, Kevin doesn’t read this. If he is, hey, Kevin. I’m doing great. The pages are just flowing, man. (Laughs.) It’ll be there next week.

    Jeff Loveness

    As much as we discuss the problems with how CG artists are treated by the industry, which includes Marvel Studios’ strong hold over it, they are very actor friendly. Majors getting to shape the character the is playing definitely highlights just how passionate he is about playing him and adds that little extra confidence that we’re about to set on a wild ride now that Phase 5 is truly getting started.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Jeff Loveness Confirms Major Changes to ‘Quantumania’ Ending; Promises Kang Will “Bring the Heat” in ‘The Kang Dynasty’

    Jeff Loveness Confirms Major Changes to ‘Quantumania’ Ending; Promises Kang Will “Bring the Heat” in ‘The Kang Dynasty’

    A common criticism of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has come from the perceived lack of a true threat posed by Jonathan Majors‘ Kang. After being billed as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga, Kang the Conqueror was defeated by the Ant-Family who escaped the Quantum Realm and their encounter with Kang relatively intact. In fact, the film ends, for the most part, on a rather upbeat note given what the Langs and the Pym van Dynes had gone through. However, it turns out that wasn’t always the case.

    In an interview with Comic Book, writer Jeff Loveness confirmed some fairly major changes were made to the ending. While the film ends with the whole family having returned home from the Quantum Realm, it turns out it wasn’t always that way as Loveness confirms that one potential ending had Scott and Hope stuck in the Quantum Realm. Ultimately, given the similarity to the ending of Ant-Man and The Wasp, that ending was removed from the film.

    Yeah, I mean, certainly in these Marvel rooms and all that, you certainly game out all these stories and you pitch them out, you write them out, and you’re trying to land the best puzzle piece because there’s so many characters in the ensemble. Certainly, you see what people are saying online. But on paper, and then just in your heart, as much as you can see that point about stranding Scott and Hope down there or whatever, at the end of the day, it is just repeating the same beat from the second movie. That just was a hurdle that you couldn’t eventually get over. And then also, it kind of affects Avengers in the same way of, well, then you’re just doing the same exact beat from Endgame as well, getting out of the Quantum Realm and I don’t think that would be a satisfying finale that people maybe think it would be.

    Jeff Loveness

    Online criticism of the film has also centered on the fact that none of the story’s protagonists died despite going up against Kang. At one point, rumors swirled that Michael Douglas‘ Hank Pym might be a casualty of the Quantum Realm, something Loveness seemed to acknowledge when describing the tone he ultimately chose for the film.

    But certainly, you go through all these permutations and then at the end of the day though, I think … I don’t want to kill Michael Douglas! At a certain point, it feels expected to kill someone in the third movie and I actually felt the joy of this movie was having a bit of a joyful adventure. Fellowship of the Ring, only one guy died. He kind of deserved it. But you’re not killing off Pippin. Killing off Pippin in Return of the King would’ve just bummed everybody out, man. If Gimli gets his head ripped off by a troll, that’s not going to be great.

    For fans who want to see Kang rack up a body count, however, Loveness has good news in the way of a thousand or so Kangs who are capable of doing plenty of damage when they show up again in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which he’s writing as well.

    But certainly, it’s up in the air but I think for these bloodthirsty fans, there’s a little movie called, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, I think he’ll bring the heat.

    Jeff Loveness

    Rumors have already suggested a trio of Avengers who might fall at the hands of Kang(s) in that film but whether those are true or not, it certainly seems as though there will be blood down the road.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Jeff Loveness on the “Big, Sweeping” Epic He’s Creating for ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ (Exclusive)

    Jeff Loveness on the “Big, Sweeping” Epic He’s Creating for ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ (Exclusive)

    While he won’t be the sole creator behind the MCU’s version of Kang, it seems safe to say that Jeff Loveness will be the one most associated with the character. After introducing Kang the Conqueror and the Council of Kangs in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Loveness will bring the full might of everything Kang to life in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty which he’s currently writing. The Kang Dynasty, which is currently slated for a 2025 release, will be the first Avengers movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which means it will be one of the most anticipated movies in the history of film.

    For Loveness, the anticipation and excitement that fans feel is something he’s very familiar with and, as such, something he has taken to heart while writing the film. “I don’t take it lightly that I am writing the biggest movie in the world,” said Loveness of The Kang Dynasty. The opportunity to write “the biggest movie in the world” is something that caused Loveness to reminisce about his own experience with “big” movies from his childhood.

    I am from a very small town; I didn’t even have a movie theater in my town so we would have to drive an hour away to go watch movies. And I love small movies, Tar is the best movie of the year; Triangle of Sadness is so funny and innovative, but when I was a kid, I went to see Lord of the Rings right when school ended. I didn’t know what it was. Our movie theater was playing that. It was a BIG movie and it changed my life.

    And so now it is Loveness‘ turn to put together what will be the big movie of 2025 and what will ultimately be compared to prior Avengers films Infinity War and Endgame in terms of quality and ability to impact pop culture. Loveness says he’s up to the task and adds that he has a secret weapon in achieving the goal of creating an “American epic” that people will remember: star Jonathan Majors.

    I have this opportunity to write a vast, American epic–I’ll use American in a general term–but a big, American movie. I don’t take it lightly and I want to make it this big, sweeping and exciting, funny movie and I think we have the best actor in the world as the most complicated villain in comic books. So I can’t say too much, but we’re really swinging for the fences and I can’t wait for you to see what Jonathan does.

    Jeff Loveness

    Loveness and fans will have to wait a bit, however, as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty isn’t slated to release until May 2nd, 2025.

  • ‘Quantumania’ Writer Teases the Aftermath of ‘Ant-Man 3’s Post-Credit Sequences

    ‘Quantumania’ Writer Teases the Aftermath of ‘Ant-Man 3’s Post-Credit Sequences

    Post-credit sequences are a tradition for any Marvel Studios production, as they offer a glimpse of what the future has in store. Not just that, but it also plays a big part in setting up the overarching plotline moving forward, which was especially important for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The introduction of Kang the Conqueror gave us a clear vision of where the future is heading but the first post-credit sequence made one thing clear: the danger is far greater than anyone ever imagined.

    The main theme to get across is that Kang is many things, but he is not a liar. All the hints, threats and warnings he was giving Scott in the middle of the movie turned out to be very true, and Ant-Man, the Wasp and the whole family barely survived beating just one of these Kangs. So, what the hell are the Avengers going to do against a thousand Kangs? And on a villain level, we saw how bad Jonathan Majors was as one Kang, so who was bad enough to beat him? Who’s the Kublai Khan to the Genghis Khan of the Kang Dynasty? Who is the Caesar Augustus to the Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire? Who is clever and cunning and evil enough to take out the dictator of the Kang Dynasty? So it’s a bit of an exponential step up, and it’s a way to show the Avengers are in way over their head. They just don’t know it yet.

    Jeff Loveness

    There was also the tease for the upcoming second season of Loki, which is still without a definite release date. Sadly, it seems Jeff Lovenss didn’t get a chance to write that short sequence and hopes to get a chance to write dialogue for the always-hilarious Owen Wilson.

    Not direct writing. We had discussions with them, and there’s an overarching theme. But no, that team had already been working on their stuff, and it’ll certainly come into play in future movies. But I wrote the mid-credit scene, and that’s a tease of the next Kang appearance. So I haven’t written for Owen Wilson yet. Perhaps one day.

    Jeff Loveness

    The future for Marvel is looking bright, as we’re just about to truly enter the era that many have been waiting for. The Multiverse Saga is taking shape in an unlikely way and Jonathan Majors already promises a villain we won’t easily forget anytime soon.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Marvel Studios Still Figuring Out Kang the Conqueror’s MCU Future

    Marvel Studios Still Figuring Out Kang the Conqueror’s MCU Future

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania gave us our first real glimpse at the power that is Kang the Conqueror but it seems that they are still figuring out exactly what the future has in store for Jonathan Majors big bad. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the writer for Quantumania and the next Avengers movie, The Kang Dynasty, revealed that they are still trying to figure out what the future has in store for Kang the Conqueror.

    I think I’ve already been killed by Feige for even taking this interview. But we are in the process of figuring that out. I am so far behind on my Avengers script, but I’ll tell you when we’ve got it figured out. We’ve got a plan and we’ve got a story, but the goal right now, without giving too much away, is to show the true versatility and passion that Jonathan Majors has. I truly feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to write for the most exciting young actor that I’ve seen in a long, long time. And so the short answer is that I can’t say anything, but the big answer is that Kang is a legion. So let’s see what that legion is like, and let’s get great character performances from the best actor around right now.

    Jeff Loveness

    He does highlight they have a plan and a story, but the details on how we get from Quantumania to The Kang Dynasty, as Loveness may be the most important to shaping Phase 5 and Phase 6. We’re definitely going to have a very interesting story ahead and Majors‘ passion for this character definitely adds quite a lot of excitement for more Kang.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Quantumania’s Writer Reveals They Considered Ant-Man’s [SPOILER]

    ‘Quantumania’s Writer Reveals They Considered Ant-Man’s [SPOILER]

    The following article will contain spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. If you haven’t seen the film only continue at your own risk.

    With any comic book property, there’s always the discussion if there truly are any stakes. Some have had ongoing accusations of superhero films not having any real consequences, as they need to make many more movies moving forward with their various superheroes. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s writer Jeff Loveness highlights, however, that everything was on the table even Scott Lang’s death. He even acknowledges the criticism that this story “didn’t matter” due to the status quo not truly changing by the end of the film.

    They were. We certainly gamed out a ton of scenarios, but it just felt a little obvious. It’s up for debate, but it just felt like we’d be copying the Thanos approach where he comes in pretty heavy and wipes the floor with everybody. I certainly see the critiques and all that, but this is a multi-step story that we’re telling. It’s also an Ant-Man movie. I think people say they want that, but do you really want to see Paul Rudd get murdered in his third movie? It was all debated, all discussed and all gamed out, but in The Wizard of Oz, you don’t want to see Dorothy die and never go home. It’s supposed to be one of these classic adventure movies. If everyone gets eaten in Jurassic Park, I don’t know if you’ll want to see the next Jurassic Park. But I wouldn’t worry too much about Kang’s kill count. He’s going to rack up some kills as he goes along.

    Jeff Loveness

    It definitely sounds like they had every option on the table but wanted to avoid just repeating the same beats from previous movies or generally being too predictable. When asked if they even considered just having Ant-Man stuck in the Quantum Realm once again, he highlighted the fact that they’d “be copying the exact same beat from the end fo the last Ant-Man movie.”

    Yeah, absolutely. That was all stuff we debated, and on paper, it seemed thrilling. But at the end of the day, we’d literally be copying the exact same beat from the end of the last Ant-Man movie. There also weren’t a lot of ways to go that were different from Endgame. If Scott gets trapped in the Quantum Realm like he does in the last movie’s ending, then the only way to go is that he gets out of the Quantum Realm like he does in Endgame.

    Jeff Loveness

    He goes on to highlight that their approach was to create this happy ending that might actually just be misleading. Scott Lang has a heavy burden on his back once again, and maybe the key to uncovering Kang’s true villainy in the multiverse given what he knows, or as Loveness puts it: “terrible sinking feeling that’s coming for him.”

    Scott Lang, much like Spider-Man or Charlie Brown, is a man who’s been through constant pain, loss and sorrow. And so the more unexpected thing would be to maybe give him a happy ending, but with the lack of assurance that he has in the first act. There’s this ever-gnawing sense of dread in him, whereas at the top of the movie, he’s carefree while his family are keeping secrets from him. And now we end the movie with his family carefree, but he has this secret that he’s keeping. He has this feeling of approaching dread, and he’s choosing to bury that terrible sinking feeling that’s coming for him.

    Jeff Loveness

    It’s definitely an unorthodox approach hidden away in something familiar or audience. Ant-Man films are also not the ones where many would expect a major tragic death, and it would’ve been too obvious to just repeat what we already saw in the last Ant-Man post-credit sequence. Perhaps future films will add even more weight to the events of this film as we move further into the Multiversal Saga.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Quantumania’ Writer Jeff Loveness on the Classic Marvel Comics Villain Who Inspired His Take on Kang (Exclusive)

    ‘Quantumania’ Writer Jeff Loveness on the Classic Marvel Comics Villain Who Inspired His Take on Kang (Exclusive)

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania introduced audiences to one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic and disruptive villains in Kang the Conqueror. Played by Jonathan Majors, who previously appeared in Loki as a Variant of the character known as He Who Remains, Kang is a man with a deep belief that the atrocities he’s committing are for the greater good though he’s found himself with quite a bit of time to reflect after being exiled by other powerful Variants of himself.

    This particular Variant of Kang, known as the Conqueror, has all the qualities of some of the great villains of all time, both fictional and historical, and is the kind of character writer Jeff Loveness has been hoping to create for some time.

    While those historical figures provide a solid foundation for the character, Loveness also turned to one of Marvel Comics’ greatest villains for inspiration in fleshing out Kang.

    I’m a deep comic book guy, too, it sounds like you are as well. I took a lot from obviously Kang in the comics but to me, the best version of this is Chris Claremont’s Magneto. That is a man who is on a crusade and your morality does not matter to him because he knows the deeper truth. You have not lived his life, you have not been through the things.

    Jeff Loveness

    Claremont took over writing duties on Marvel Comics X-Men in 1975 and created the now well-known backstory of Magneto as a survivor of the holocaust. Suffice to say, whatever it is that most folks know about Magneto is what Claremont added to him. Like Claremont’s Magneto, it seems that once the MCU’s Kang sets his sights on something, nothing short of death will stop him especially when, in this case, he realizes that the problem he’s trying to fix was caused by him(s).

    There’s a line that Kang says, ‘When you can see time the way I do you don’t get to close your eyes,’ and there’s also a guilt to it as well because he says that time is broken. Janet challenges him and says well who broke it, and he says I did. And that’ll be something for Avengers or whatever, but he has almost this broken–he’s looking out the broken window of the multiverse and all of his Variants causing it, him causing it, and realizing…almost like America looking at climate change, ‘Oh boy, I think we left the A/C on a little too long. I think we better do something about this.’ He’s literally in a crusade against himself and his other selves didn’t like that too much, so they got rid of him.

    Jeff Loveness

    Quantumania served as a bit of an origin story for Kang, who Loveness seems to hint will return to face off with the Avengers despite the way things ended for him. According to Loveness, who is also writing Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, that “origin” was a necessary part of the development of the character so fans get to know him before things get really wild. “Before it gets all crazy and multiversal, I wanted to spend a lot of time with the man” said Loveness, “because then I think we’ll be along for the ride a little more.” Given what was glimpsed in Quantumania’s mid and post credit scenes, it seems like it’s going to be one helluva crazy, multiversal ride.

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Writer Compares Working for Marvel Studio With His TV Experience

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Writer Compares Working for Marvel Studio With His TV Experience

    Marvel Studios has been quite strategic in hiring writers from Rick and Morty‘s writer’s room that has quite a bit of experience in the realm of science-fiction and multiversal storytelling. With the current new direction, it makes sense to get those writers that have talent in it. We had Michael Waldron tackle Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Jeff Loveness, who is currently promoting his film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the writer shared just how different his experience was, especially in the fact that he was able to work on this film on his own. While he does point out that Marvel has “a lot of cooks” and even praises Paul Rudd’s additions through his improv skills, but highlights that he got to write this film on his own.

    […] I come from the TV world where sometimes there’s just too many voices in the room. Some things kind of get lost at the table or everyone wants to get out that day. So it’s actually really rare and really exciting to be the only main writer on this, because I got to drive some weird ideas in there. And obviously, with Marvel, there’s a lot of cooks in there, and every actor and every person is going to have their own thoughts. But once again, I secretly got to write a huge weird movie all by myself, and that doesn’t happen a lot with these types of movies.

    Jeff Loveness

    Marvel Studios has actually been taking a new direction with most of their current films being from a singular writer, as most of their past projects were involved with a variety of projects. They commonly had multiple rewrites for their scripts and ongoing changes during production, but Loveness got a chance to tell a multiverse storyline that was very much his own.

    It seems that just the fact he got to write the base script for Quantumania on his own. Even as critical reception was surprisingly harsh, his work did persuade Marvel Studios to have him tackle the script for their first big Avengers film in quite some time.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Quantumania’s Jeff Loveness On What Makes Kang Different From Thanos

    ‘Quantumania’s Jeff Loveness On What Makes Kang Different From Thanos

    No matter who was going to be the main antagonist moving forward, we all expected comparisons to the original Marvel Cinematic Universe big bad, Thanos. While only making a brief appearance throughout the first three phases, Josh Brolin left quite an impression once he made his true arrival in Avengers: Infinity War. Now, we may get to spend a lot more time with the Multiverse Saga’s antagonist, Kang the Conqueror.

    Jeff Loveness had the joy of writing the character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where we meet a very different version of the character that just faced his biggest loss. He’s only one of many Variants that are eyeing a multiversal war at some point in the future. The writer of the Ant-Man threequel got a chance to highlight what makes Jonathan Majors‘ antagonist stand out from the previous big bad.

    And so that allowed us to really give Jonathan Majors an opportunity to show the sheer humanity of this character. It’s also the opposite of Thanos. Josh Brolin did a terrific job, obviously. So much has been said about Thanos, but he is a purple, CGI space alien. So it was thrilling to write for a human face and one as expressive as Jonathan Majors’. But there’s going to be plenty of sci-fi and conquering in these Avengers movies going forward, so my approach was to give people a taste of who this guy is.

    Jeff Loveness

    And what a taste he gave us. We not only had the “nice” version of Loki but also Quantumania‘s version that is hellbent on getting what he deserves. Loveness pulled from his comic knowledge to get a true feel for this character and compared him to Chris Claremont‘s iconic take of Magneto, as we see a character going through many events in his life instead of just what we are told.

    Well, I think you root for someone who knows defeat. Thanos says that he knows what it’s like to lose, but we never see him lose until the end of Endgame. All he does is toss away the people that he loves and beat Thor’s ass. But yes, it’s a risk, and we certainly took some heat for it. But I am willing to bet that we are going to root for a guy that we’ve seen stumble and fall, much like Chris Claremont’s Magneto from those X-Men comics. That guy loses a lot, and we see how much pain he’s been through. And so by the time he really unleashes that rage, we’re on his side and we kind of get it. So I think we’re allowed to have a villain that takes a few shots along the way as [Kang the Conqueror or his variants] make their rise.

    Jeff Loveness

    He also compares it to Loki’s journey, who would become one of the most popular antagonists/anti-heroes in the MCU. He wants to ensure that “his defeat was a way to showcase his humanity and his unending passion.” The most interesting quote is that “Kang is not a guy that you can beat once; he is an existential problem” and highlights just how dangerous he will be in the future.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter