Instead of completely ignoring Kang’s influence on the MCU, Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to recast the formidable supervillain in 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the wake of Thanos’ defeat in Avengers: Endgame and with the beginning of the Multiverse Saga, the MCU needed a significant new threat, and Kang the Conqueror was a fantastic candidate. Kang and his variants, including He Who Remains, Immortus and Victor Timely, have had key roles in the MCU’s recent projects, but the villains’ futures in the franchise are less clear.

He Who Remains was the first Kang variant to appear in live-action, with Jonathan Majors making his MCU debut in 2021’s Loki season 1. Following Majors’ role as the Conqueror and other variants in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and as Victor Timely in Loki season 2, the actor was convicted on two misdemeanour counts of harᴀssment and ᴀssault, leading to him being fired from Marvel Studios. There has been some dispute about how Marvel should handle Kang in the MCU now, and one highly-anticipated upcoming movie creates the perfect opportunity for him to be reinvented.

The Fantastic Four Battle Kang Variant Rama-Tut In Marvel Comics

Pharaoh Rama-Tut Is A Kang Variant From Ancient Egypt

It seems the best place for Marvel Studios to recast and reinvent Kang in the MCU is in 2025’s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps reboot. First Steps will introduce a new version of Marvel’s First Family into live-action after several previous disappointing adaptations, and the Fantastic Four are expected to go up against Ralph Ineson’s Galactus and possibly a number of other villains in their MCU debut. One of these villains could even be a variant of Kang the Conqueror, as the Fantastic Four famously battled Egyptian Pharaoh Rama-Tut in Marvel Comics in 1963.

Rama-Tut was created when Nathaniel Richards acquired time travel in the far future and traveled back in time to rule over Ancient Egypt. There, he planned to claim En Sabah Nur, the mutant destined to become Apocalypse, as his powerful heir, but Rama-Tut was defeated and his rule ended when the Fantastic Four arrived in the past and thrust him back into the time-stream. Kang is a descendant of Reed Richards’ own time-traveling father, Nathaniel, so his connections to the Fantastic Four are undeniably strong and would be great to see in the MCU.

Rama-Tut Would Fit Perfectly Into The Alternate Universe Storyline Of The Fantastic Four: First Steps

First Steps’ Alternate World Makes Rama-Tut A Very Possible Addition

Marvel Studios will be breaking new ground with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as the movie will be the first live-action project in the MCU to be set entirely in an alternate universe. This means Marvel can take many creative liberties with First Steps, redesigning the world and its inhabitants, possibly making them wildly different from those we know from Earth-616. While Jonathan Majors has already appeared as Rama-Tut in the mid-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel could recast the Pharaoh for an appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ alternate world.

There has been some confusion about whether Marvel Studios would recast Kang and his variants or kill off the iconic supervillain following Jonathan Majors’ departure. Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom and the reshaping of The Kang Dynasty into Avengers: Doomsday suggests Kang will just be moved on from, but a recast would make sense in the vast multiverse. Given their connection to Rama-Tut in Marvel Comics, it would be great to see the Fantastic Four open the door for Kang to be recast.

Why Rama-Tut Would Be A Great Kang Variant To Reintroduce To The MCU Before The Others

Rama-Tut Was The Earliest Kang Variant In Marvel Comics

Following Jonathan Majors’ actions coming to light in 2023, Kang and his variants may seem tainted to many in the MCU, which makes it difficult for Marvel Studios to simply recast the villain and continue as the Multiverse Saga would have. This has thankfully brought Doctor Doom to the forefront, but Kang shouldn’t be forgotten completely. Instead, Marvel could start a gradual reintroduction of Kang to the MCU, perhaps a more comic-accurate iteration whose variants emerge because of time travel, rather than branching realities and alternate variants.

In Marvel Comics, Rama-Tut was the first variant of Nathaniel Richards that was created when the character found time travel technology in the future. He traveled back in time in a Sphinx-shaped ship and set himself up as the Pharaoh, marking his debut in Marvel Comics in 1963’s Fantastic Four #19, long before he became Kang. The fact that Rama-Tut was the first version seen in Marvel Comics means it would be great for this to be the first iteration recreated in the live-action MCU, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be a brilliant place for this to happen.

We Hope Kang Is Still A Threat In The MCU’s Future

It Would Be A Mistake For Marvel To Completely Forget Kang & His Variants

Right now, it would be very easy for Marvel Studios to simply forget about Kang and his variants, and instead focus on Doctor Doom as the primary antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, with the latter possibly soft-rebooting the MCU anyway. However, it would be a huge shame for Kang to just be removed from the MCU. He is one of the most significant and powerful supervillains in Marvel Comics, and one of the longest-running, so he should still have a role in the MCU’s future as a recurring antagonist.

Marvel Studios will need to make some drastic changes to Kang in order for this transition to be successful, however, removing the character from Jonathan Majors’ influence and allowing new actors to take over seamlessly. Reintroducing Rama-Tut with a new face in the alternate universe of The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be an excellent way to begin this evolution for the villain. The tease of the Council of Kangs hasn’t yet been paid off, and there are countless versions of the character we haven’t yet seen, so it would be a good choice for Marvel to keep him around.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  MCU Spider-Man 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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