In the wake of saving the universe, Scott Lang has found a sense of peace at the start of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He's a hero, he's written a book, and he is working to make up for the time he lost with his daughter. When an experiment of Cassie's goes wrong, she, Scott, Hope Van Dyne, Janet Van Dyne, and Hank Pym are pulled into the Quantum Realm. While in the Quantum Realm, Scott faces off against enemies both old and new with Kang and M.O.D.O.K.
M.O.D.O.K. is the new version of Darren Cross, whom Scott defeated at the end of Ant-Man. While Darren was believed to be dead after being sent into the Quantum Realm, it is revealed he survived in Ant-Man 3, although he was forever altered when he was forcibly shrunk subatomic. Darren also went through experimentation to turn him into a weapon known as M.O.D.O.K. by Kang.
Screen Rant spoke with Corey Stoll about playing M.O.D.O.K., a changed version of Darren Cross, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He shared how he was pitched the idea of M.O.D.O.K. and the production process. Cross also explained the relationship between M.O.D.O.K. and Kang.
Corey Stoll on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Screen Rant: I think M.O.D.O.K. is one of those characters we've been anticipating in the MCU forever, so we finally got 'em on screen. Can you tell me about the call Peyton Reed gives you when he explained how he wanted to bring you back into the Ant-Man franchise?
Corey Stoll: He thought that he was going to have to pitch it and sell me on it. I got a call a little bit earlier from my manager saying, "Peyton wants to talk," and it was very little information, and I was like, "How is Darren going to come back? How is this possible? Am I going to come back as a totally different character?" Then my mind sort of really went crazy during that week waiting for this call. Am I going to be in The Fantastic Four, or what's going to happen?
And then I talked to him, and he said, "We haven't written it yet. I wanted to make sure you were on board. It's pretty crazy, but have you heard of his character named M.O.D.O.K.?" And I was like, "Yes, the guy with the giant head?" He said, "Yeah, I'm surprised you knew who he was." And I was like, "You don't forget an image of M.O.D.O.K. it's one of a kind." And he was pitching it. He was telling me everything was happening, and I was just like, "Yes. You had me at M.O.D.O.K."
You had me at M.O.D.O.K., exactly. Before Quantumania, what did you think happened to Darren Cross after Ant-Man defeated him? Did you think that he was going to go anywhere else or that there was more story to tell with the character? Or did you just think it was done?
Corey Stoll: Well, I had hoped that he would keep going, but I wasn't holding a torch for him. The original script had him live, and then for a while there was a version where he died in a very permanent way. Then I didn't even know how he was going to die until I went to the premiere. And then I saw him sort of just shrink into this little dot. I was like, "Oh, there's a possibility that he could still be alive."
Oh, really? You didn't know how he died until you saw it at the premiere?
Yeah, I mean they were going back and forth. So, I was a little bit hopeful at that point, but who knows? I was very excited when I got a chance to take another bite of the Apple.
Can you talk to me about the relationship between M.O.D.O.K. and Kang and collaborating with Jonathan Majors to find that chemistry?
Corey Stoll: Jonathan and I share an acting teacher. We went to different acting schools with the teacher moved Ron Van Lou, who was a really an incredible influence on both of us, a giant in the acting teaching world. So we geeked out a little bit on that when we first met. You couldn't really think of two more different super villains than Kang, and at least this version of M.O.D.O.K. Kang is sort of as cool as they get and M.O.D.O.K. is just a weirdo.
I love M.O.D.O.K. in this movie. How did you approach him given his history with the Ant-Fam?
Corey Stoll: I think that from the beginning, M.O.D.O.K.'s motivation has been for approval and mostly from this father figure of Hank Pym. And he didn't get it when he was in his original form, and he's been in the Quantum Realm with this new father figure of Kang, who has given him this awesome power and sent him off on these killing missions.
And Kang is an abusive father, but he's a father nonetheless, that Darren is seeking. And so, now that he's confronted with his old life, he thinks he's going to be that guy at the high school reunion who comes back and everybody's so impressed with his trophy wife and all the money he's making, and they just see the loser that he always was. And it just drives him all the more crazy.
Is there anything about Darren's time as M.O.D.O.K. in the Quantum Realm that you would've liked to have explored more?
Corey Stoll: Yeah, totally. Obviously just the whole process of turning into M.O.D.O.K. and his relationship with Kang, it would be really interesting to see the more vicious, menacing side of him. You see a little bit of it, but it's deflated pretty quickly because Scott deflates it pretty quickly. Nobody who knew him before really takes him seriously. Everybody in the Quantum Realm thinks M.O.D.O.K. is the scariest guy in the world, but our gang knows who he really is.
Can you talk about how this was shot? Were you in a motion capture suit and did you see concepts before filming started?
Corey Stoll: Yeah, my schedule was such that I could only be there for a really limited time. And so I showed up right before they started principal photography. They showed me all this animatics and concept art, which I thought was hilarious and amazing.
That shot with the claw picking came up naked from behind? I just thought that was the most amazing. I couldn't believe that they were going to have that in the movie. And then I heard later that they were going to cut it, and I was like, "No, you can't cut the butt. It's just too good." I don't know if it was my influence that made them put it back in, but I'm really glad.
It's making its rounds on the internet. Do you think we've seen the last of M.O.D.O.K. or Darren Cross, especially now that we know that the multiverse exists in the MCU?
Corey Stoll: Your guess is as good as mine? I am down to continue playing M.O.D.O.K. That would be so much fun, but I have no inside knowledge on that one.
What did you find the most surprising while working on Quantumania?
Corey Stoll: I was amazed actually, despite the fact that this role was the most reliant on technology, the most complex thing, the actual filming of it felt less mediated by technology than filming anything else, because I did have the dots on my face and the little camera on my face. But other than that, we were just doing the scenes as if we were in a play. And so you don't have to wait for any cameras or anything like that, and you're not blocking anything. And so you can just interact with the other actors, and it was a really free organic process. That was really cool.
About Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
After defeating Thanos, Scott is ready to make up for the time he missed as a father, but before he has the chance, he, Hop Van Dyne, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Cassie Lang are pulled into the mysterious Quantum Realm. Now, the family will need to navigate the Quantum Relam and its inhabitants, including a new threat, Kang the Conqueror, if they have any chance of returning home.
Check out our other Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania interviews:
