Kevin Feige is the sH๏τ caller for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and he recently revealed some surprising details about what happened behind the scenes of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania before they replaced Kang. While the MCU rose to the height of its popularity between 2008 and 2019, it’s been struggling ever since the Multiverse Saga began.

While this is likely due to a mulтιтude of factors, including the end of the Infinity Saga, the global pandemic, and the loss of several fan-favorite characters, there were high hopes that the Multiverse Saga could deliver something special with Jonathan Majors as Kang.

However, due to legal issues regarding the actor, and the lackluster performance of Phase 4, the MCU pivoted away from Kang and towards Doctor Doom. But according to Feige’s own words, discussions to replace the villain were already under way while the MCU was still establishing Kang as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga.

Kevin Feige Has Explained The Plans For Kang’s Replacement Began Long Before His Movie Debut

Kang’s Place In The MCU Was Tenuous From The Start

Marvel has had a challenging time building out their universe of stories. While the MCU was a wild and unprecedented success that seemed to launch into global popularity from the first Iron Man movie, Marvel’s intellectual property was divided among numerous production companies.

With Sony, Universal, and Fox all owning pieces of Marvel’s IP, the MCU was forced to get creative and shine a spotlight on lesser-known heroes, like Iron Man, to lead their universe of stories. But Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men remained extremely popular brands that Marvel was keen to incorporate in the MCU. And this is reflected in Feige’s statement below from an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.

But these remarks also highlight that Kang’s role was already being minimized while the MCU was still actively promoting the character as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga. And more than that, Feige was already in early talks and development with the actor that would be announced to replace Kang, the one and only Robert Downey Jr.

The MCU’s Plans To Replace Kang With Doctor Doom Make His Odd Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Fate Look Even Weirder

Quantumania’s Mid-Credits Scene Made Things Way More Confusing For Kang

The biggest issue with this is the lack of clarity and foresight in the projects and the way they were released. At one point, Kang was set to be the major antagonist, and so the groundwork was being laid for him to become a multiversal threat. But when he appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his role seems less clear.

On the one hand, the character of Kang the Conqueror is introduced as one of the most powerful and menacing versions of Kang. But by the end of the film, Kang is killed with relative ease. Then, to further add to the confusion, the mid-credits scene of the film shows the Council of Kangs with a clear indication that these characters will be important going forward.

The thing is, the mid and post-credits scenes are the least important parts of a Marvel movie. They drop hints, but they don’t need to do anything specific. So, it would have been very easy to drop the mid-credits scene, and leave Kang’s ending ambiguous, which could have helped better establish the transition to Doom in the MCU.

The MCU May Have Been Better Off Just Killing Kang If The Doctor Doom Plans Were Already In The Works

Kang Should Have Stayed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ In Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

While both James Gunn and Kevin Feige have talked about their stance on superhero fatigue, and both claim it does not really exist, their approaches are evidently very different. Gunn believes people are tired of mediocre movies with underdeveloped stories. And it appears that the MCU’s method of releasing a continuous onslaught of films and shows is starting to backfire.

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The reality is that Quantumania and the way Kang is used in the film is indicative of the larger issue facing the MCU right now. Despite big ideas and conversations happening behind the scenes, these changes are being made at the last minute in the films, and it’s dragging down the quality of the finished products. Feige clearly had a strong idea for what he wanted in the Multiverse Saga, but they continued to promote an idea that was deflating.

The MCU needs to be more decisive. Kang’s role was fading fast, but the way he was portrayed in Quantumania was incredibly confusing, and ultimately unrealistic considering the plans to bring in Doom. Rather than treat his defeat as ambiguous, and leave his story on a cliffhanger, the MCU should have stuck to their guns and let Kang die.

Doctor Doom is inherently a stronger character to use as the big bad for the Multiverse Saga, and Marvel likely made the right call in replacing Kang. However, the way they approached it was confusing and misleading. But not because they intentionally tried to misdirect. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania just had no clear idea of what was happening with the character in the MCU.