Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer breaks down MODOK inspiration: "He’s a real loose cannon"

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will introduce a major new villain in Kang the Conqueror – but he's not the only character Marvel fans are desperate to meet in the upcoming movie. The third Ant-Man movie will also mark the MCU debut of MODOK, or Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, and writer Jeff Loveness has revealed how much fun it was to introduce the absurd supervillain. 

"MODOK is maybe my single favorite thing that I got in the movie," Loveness says in the upcoming issue of SFX magazine, which features Star Trek: Picard on the cover. "Obviously we are very faithful to the comics with the design and the look, but then there is a little bit of extra we put into him. Maybe I’ll get fired off The Kang Dynasty when people see it, but some of my favorite moments come from MODOK and the dynamics there.

"I’ll just say he was inspired by Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Frank Grimes in an old Simpsons episode – this really put-upon, selfish, entitled but then also deeply sad, insecure man who knows that he got a shit deal in life and is trying to make the best of it."

MODOK is essentially a malevolent giant head in a flying chair and is one of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s most utterly out-there creations. He’ll be played in the new movie by Corey Stoll, and we’ve already seen a glimpse at his design in the movie’s trailer.

"His ego will crumble the second he’s challenged but then also like Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, he’s pretty good at killing people," Loveness adds. "He’s a real loose cannon character and I had a great amount of fun with him. That was almost day one in the room – we cracked MODOK as a character and the movie just became so fun."

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Elsewhere in the interview with Loveness, the writer also shared some insight into Kang, and the role he’ll play in the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. For all of that and more, read the full conversation in the latest issue of SFX Magazine with Picard on the cover, available on newsstands on January 25! For even more from SFX, sign up for the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out in theaters on February 17. You can also check out all of the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows as the MCU heads into Marvel Phase 5.