The following contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in theaters now.
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans shouldn't hold their breath waiting for a more serious take on MODOK, according to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness.
Loveness suggested that the classic supervillain's MCU incarnation will only get more comical in future MCU installments during an interview with Vital Thrills. "I promise you [MODOK] will be even stupider [if he returns]," he said. "I refuse to listen to the fans on this. I will not make MODOK serious. As long as I'm alive, they're not gonna get that serious adaptation that those four fans want. He'll be a big dumb head. That's all."
Loveness doubled down on Quantumania's portrayal of MODOK in an interview with Slashfilm. "I will go to the mat for MODOK. I am so happy," he said. "And it was such a fight. And it was such a labor of love and passion and all that, just to get the comedy balance of this guy. And hey, I’m a big comics guy, I’m sure you are, too. We’re on the internet. People got opinions. Those motherfuckers are wrong. I'm sorry, you want to do a serious take on MODOK? I played that Avengers game on PS5, good luck... I'll take all the punches that they want, critiques, whatever, but MODOK? No, no, no, no. I'm very happy with what we did."
MODOK makes his long-awaited MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he's portrayed as the mutated, cybernetically augmented form of original Ant-Man baddie Darren Cross. This represents a break from Marvel Comics canon, in which MODOK's original identity is AIM technician George Tarleton.
Ant-Man 3 Actor Defends the MCU's MODOK
Darren Cross actor Corey Stoll also defended the decision to combine his character with MODOK in a recent interview, insisting that changes have to be made when adapting comics for the screen. Stoll added that Cross becoming the MCU's MODOK made sense "within the context of Darren's arc." He also praised Loveness, director Peyton Reed and star Paul Rudd for making the "very strong choice" to retcon established comics' continuity in service of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's narrative.
Stoll's support of the third Ant-Man installment's take on MODOK even extends to the controversial scene in which the supervillain's bare butt is shown. Stoll branded the cheeky scene "brilliant and funny" and said that he lobbied Marvel Studios to keep it in the finished film after learning it was on the verge of being cut. Unsurprisingly, Loveness is also a staunch supporter of MODOK's revealing moment, which he recently shared on Twitter along with a famous quote by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, "Cinema is a mosaic made of time."
Source: Vital Thrills, Slashfilm