Three years later, Marvel Studios' next Disney+ series reimagines Kang's pivotal moment from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and it changes everything. To this day, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is considered one of the biggest flops in Marvel Studios history. The third Ant-Man film reportedly not only cost Disney money, but also firmly established the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a path it quickly decided to abandon: Kang the Conqueror.
Quantumania ended with a post-credits scene that Marvel Studios soon regretted. After introducing two versions of Kang played by Jonathan Majors—"The One Who Remains" from Loki and Kang the Conqueror from Ant-Man 3—the sequel's final teaser showed thousands of other Kangs from the Council of Kangs, each bearing the actor's likeness, from Egyptian pharaohs to lizard-like aliens.
Marvel Studios' timing for this move was extremely unfortunate, as Majors was arrested that same month for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. This ultimately led to the Marvel Cinematic Universe star's dismissal later that year, after a New York jury found him guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment.
Since Kang's focus was on his many incarnations, not just one, this could have been an easy solution for Marvel Studios. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has clearly demonstrated that variations of the same person can have different faces, with the three Peters teaming up in Spider-Man: Homecoming and the multiple gods of mischief in Loki's Void.
Unfortunately, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finally confirmed that, with rare exceptions, all versions of Kang resemble Jonathan Majors in appearance, cementing his status as the face of the Multiverse saga. However, Marvel Studios is reconsidering this statement because in the second season «X-Men '97’ a version of Rama-Tut will be presented , an ancient Egyptian version of Kang, not played by Majors.
According to unconfirmed reports, Star Trek: The Next Generation actor John de Lancie will voice the X-Men '97 season two version of Kang, becoming the first person to play Kang in any format since Majors' arrival in 2021.
While Ant-Man 3 implied that every Kang bears the Major's face, Marvel Studios could play with this plot twist. For example, perhaps Kang's Council is composed exclusively of those who share his appearance, either believing themselves superior or simply existing separately.
Marvel Studios has reopened the floodgates for Kang.
During the uncertain period between the release of Ant-Man 3 and Majors' official dismissal, Marvel Studios faced another obstacle. Disney+ released the second season of Loki in October 2023, forcing Majors to reprise his key role as Victor Timley, a 19th-century scientist, and also reprise his role as He Who Remains.
Season two ended with the TVA acting as a multiversal observer of Kang's variants, including one that «"caused a bit of a stir in the world adjacent to the 616th universe,", With the events of Ant-Man 3 in mind, this left a number of Kang-related storylines to be explored in Avengers: Kang Dynasty, but now perhaps best resolved in a potential third season of Loki, given the arrival of Doctor Doom.
It would have been fitting, in many ways, for Doom to defeat Kang's Council, establishing himself as a formidable adversary and symbolically declaring his intention to lead Avengers 5. It's difficult to portray this onscreen without the Majors returning, but it could have been accomplished by someone from the TVA stating that all versions of He Who Remains were wiped out by Doom.
With Marvel Studios unlikely to ever revive its original plan for Avengers 5, X-Men '97's second season may be the closest fans will get to Kang Dynasty, both due to the inclusion of Rama-Tut and some similarities to the proposed plot.
While Kang's role in the Avengers blockbuster has already been overlooked, as that honor is reserved for a select few, X-Men '97 proves that the door may not be closed for the character yet, and he could be seen in other, smaller-scale projects.
This doesn't mean that whoever voiced Kang in X-Men '97 should voice other Kangs in the future, as Marvel Studios would be wise to learn from their mistakes and spread the workload going forward. But for now, it would be surprising if Rama-Tut's debut in the animated mutant series was more than just a one-off appearance.
Despite existing in the same multiverse as the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men '97 has thus far remained a standalone project, avoiding the narrative pitfalls of other films. For many, X-Men '97's independence is one of its greatest strengths, and Marvel Studios would be wise to maintain this quality for many seasons to come.