I’ve finally gotten around to starting to catch up to the legion of Marvel films and shows after around the time of like, Ms. Marvel or She Hulk. Over the last few days, I’ve managed to get through Thor: Love & Thunder, Black Panther 2, and one that I’d earmarked as a source for a future brog post, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
With Secret Invasion out, I didn’t want to fall further behind, to the point where I’d abandon ship and not watch any of these things for a few years, and then fall completely out of the loop for when some of the more interesting Marvel properties start releasing, and I’ll have missed out on some backstory from required prerequisite viewing. Sometimes I hate the feeling of obligation to have to watch some things, but at the same time, I am a Marvel fan, and I often times take enjoyment out of watching all these shows and movies in spite of the general sense of superhero media fatigue the internet likes to claim there is.
But as I alluded to, Quantumania was one that I had specifically earmarked, because one, I like Paul Rudd, his portrayal of Ant-Man, and I thought the movie would be entertaining, regardless of how much the internet seemed to shit all over it not long after it had released. I take internet reviews with not even the metaphorical grain of salt, and they simply hold zero weight at all when it comes to judging most things, and Ant-Man 3 would be no exception.
But two, also not long after the film had released, it was revealed that the guy playing Kang the Conqueror, Jonathan Majors, had some dirty laundry aired out, with the revelation that he was basically an abuser of women. And in this day and age, as well as Marvel/Disney always trying to maintain their image, it’s safe to assume that we’ve probably seen the last of Jonathan Majors in the MCU.
The problem is, Majors’ role as Kang is quite large, as he’s basically the next Thanos when it comes to being the big bad that all of the current phase(s) of Marvel film and television are building up towards. So despite it being the correct and appropriate call to 86 the guy for being an abusive asshole, it’s still egg on Marvel/Disney’s face that they have to figure out what to do to replace him in the future.
Really, it shouldn’t be that difficult, because in the era of the Multiverse where just about anything and everything can be retconned and reimagined at a moment’s notice, replacing a character probably isn’t the most difficult thing to accomplish, and I’m sure that by the time the Kang Dynasty storyline begins wrapping up, most people will have forgotten that Jonathan Majors was even the guy first introduced as the character.
However, and to the point of this whole post, I proposed a much more blunt and easier option: just fucking flat out recast the role. Just like when Terrence Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle for the role of James Rhodes, nobody said shit, there were no sneaky clever jokes, Iron Man 2 just picked right up with Cheadle playing War Machine like he was there the entire time, and not a single soul sold it at all. Do the same thing with Kang, and despite the fact that he’s already appeared in Loki, and his face was plastered all over Quantumania, just straight up replace the guy and don’t bother with any re-writes or try to reinvent the wheel at this point.
But my proposal doesn’t end there with the idea to recast Kang, but recast him with a very specific actor: William Jackson Harper, AKA Chidi from The Good Place. Marvel seemed quite determined to make sure the role was played by a black guy with presence, eloquent speaker and with a physique in place, all of which is pretty good to describe Jonathan Majors. Which is precisely why I think Chidi would make such a seamless replacement for him, because he’s a good looking black man, an extremely eloquent speaker with great annunciation and delivery, and he may not be as physically imposing as Majors was, but Chidi is also no slouch either.
Whatever property Kang is slated to appear in next, just have him played by Chidi and act like it was him all along. By the time the Kang Dynasty really starts to pick up momentum, everyone will have forgotten Jonathan Majors completely.
Needless to say, I had been spouting the Chidi Train long before I even watched the film, so that was the reason to why I had earmarked Quantumania, so that I could observe and keep watch for any performances by Majors that couldn’t have been done comparably if not better if done by Chidi, and unsurprisingly, there really was nothing he did in the entire film that wouldn’t have been believable if done by Chidi alternatively.
Which is why it was completely mind blowing when I realized that William Jackson Harper was already in Quantumania as some rando telepath in the group of some rebels in the Quantum Realm. But I was not the least bit deterred by it when it comes to sticking to my guns that Chidi should be the next Kang. I mean if Chris Evans can shake and no-sell the fact that he was already Johnny Storm in a previous film, Chidi can seamlessly go from low-exposure telepath in Quantumania to become the New Kang the Conqueror for the future of the MCU.
The bottom line is I am all about the Chidi for Kang train, and I highly encourage Marvel Studios to heed my suggestion and put Chidi in to be Kang from here on out. Forget about Jonathan Majors as soon as possible, and just let the talent and delivery of Chidi assume control of the role, and prepare for the avalanche of profits as future Marvel films and shows continue to churn out, but a little bit moar because Chidi = best Kang.
As for the film itself, it was nowhere near as shitty as the internet made it out to be. I feel like people were probably butthurt that it had a more serious tone and atmosphere to it, and not enough Paul Rudd charming humor that everyone probably expected. The film was bigger than its parent title, as most MCU productions are these days, and they’re often working towards a bigger storyline, so despite it being called Ant-Man and the Wasp, some of their usual attributes had to be set aside and the time shared in order for the bigger picture storyline to have some room to germinate and grow.
I found the film to be perfectly watchable, and it was a million times better than watching Moon Knight. Now that Marvel property really sucked goat balls, and not even Chidi as Kang could rescue it.
