Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania first reactions praise Jonathan Majors's "charismatic" Kang
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will kick off Phase 5 of the MCU this month.
The next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to kick-off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and now the first reactions and reviews are in.
The threequel will see our size-altering heroes face their hardest challenge yet in the form of Jonathan Majors’s iconic villain Kang the Conquerer, who is set to play a major role in future Marvel entries, including 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will pick up after the events of the Loki ending on Disney Plus – which first introduced Majors as an alternate version of Kang – and will see Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) reprise their roles to take on the baddie.
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The film held its world premiere last night (Monday 6th February) in Los Angeles and critics have been quick to heap praise upon Major’s performance.
Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub termed the movie a “strong start to Phase 5” and said: "Jonathan Majors is excellent as Kang and cannot wait to see where this all goes. 2 after the credits scenes and both are very good."
Buzzfeed’s Nora Dominick was also impressed by Kang and praised Majors for the “complexity” he brings to the character, Tweeting: "Jonathan Majors is a force in #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania. He’s compelling, chilling, and already giving a top notch performance. I love the complexity he brings to Kang with literally a single look. MCU really won with this casting."
Meanwhile, Variety artisans editor Jazz Tangcay heaped praise upon the film, describing it as “creative, irresistibly energetic with some great action sequences".
However, while CNET’s Sean Keane had positive things to say about Majors's performance, he was less enthusiastic about the film as a whole.
He Tweeted: "#AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania has way too much going on -- it’s tough to connect emotionally to any of it. Jonathan Majors’s Kang is a charismatic, intense baddy and visually awesome, but the threat he represents is too abstract."
Film critic Simon Thompson was also less enthusiastic, labelling the film a "messy spectacle".
A full length-trailer for the film was released in January 2023, teasing the battle between Scott Lang and Kang the Conquerer, as well as confirming the reports that Corey Stoll would be portraying MODOK.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is released in UK cinemas on Friday 17th February 2023.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.