While Kang the Conqueror’s future in the MCU is uncertain, Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine could finally prove how dangerous he actually is by paying off the villain’s Phase 5 threat. Even though Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to explore a multiversal storyline in the MCU’s Phase 5, the Multiverse Saga’s overarching villain, Kang the Conqueror, isn’t thought to be included in the upcoming project. Jonathan Majors first appeared as a Kang the Conqueror variant in Loki season 1, but Jonathan Majors’ 2023 arrest, conviction, and firing from Marvel Studios has left Kang the Conqueror’s future in the MCU uncertain.
Kang the Conqueror and his variants posed a significant threat to the MCU prior to Jonathan Majors’ arrest, so it’s possible that he could reappear in Deadpool & Wolverine, perhaps being portrayed by a new actor. Kang the Conqueror being recast has been a popular avenue for Marvel Studios to take among audiences, particularly since there are still many unanswered questions that need to be resolved in Kang’s MCU storyline. Even if the epic multiversal villain doesn’t appear in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, the project’s first official trailer may have hinted at one of these loose ends being paid off.
While Kang the Conqueror’s variants, including He Who Remains and Victor Timely, had a large part to play in Marvel Studios’ Loki series on Disney+, Kang the Conqueror himself took center-stage in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Despite mixed reviews, Quantumania delivered a strong debut for Kang the Conqueror in the MCU, stressing just how terrifying the villain could be, especially during one exchange with Scott Lang’s Ant-Man in the Quantum Realm. During this memorable scene, Kang the Conqueror goads Ant-Man by suggesting he has killed variants of the Avengers throughout his travels, including “the one with the hammer.”
This threat made Kang the Conqueror seem like a true danger to the heroes of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. However, this has seen no pay off whatsoever, as no heroes have yet been killed by Kang on-screen, and even Ant-Man was able to defeat the villain in Quantumania’s final moments. With no word on whether Kang the Conqueror will be returning to the MCU, and talk of Marvel Studios in fact moving away from Kang’s story entirely, and perhaps introducing a new villain in his place, it’s unclear whether Kang’s threat from Quantumania will actually ever be seen in live-action.
Deadpool & Wolverine may be about to change things, however, and potentially make Kang the Conqueror a present danger in the MCU once again. Scenes from Deadpool & Wolverine’s first official trailer show the titular mutant heroes in the Void at the End of Time, the place where everything the Time Variance Authority prunes ends up. This appears to be the home of dangerous X-Men villain Cassandra Nova, who seems to have established her base of operations inside the decaying body of none other than Ant-Man himself – though he seems to have been in his Giant-Man form when pruned.
The appearance of Ant-Man’s dead body in Deadpool & Wolverine’s Void means that the TVA must have pruned the Avenger in some timeline. This means that, in a way, Kang did kill an Avenger, as Kang variant He Who Remains created the TVA to protect the Sacred Timeline. Of course, this would be an indirect killing of Ant-Man, but this could begin to make good on Kang the Conqueror’s threat from Quantumania, particularly since other superpowered characters also appear in the Void, proving that He Who Remains and the TVA have been successful in bringing down these heroes and villains.
Aside from potentially having a Kang the Conqueror variant orchestrate the killing of Ant-Man, Deadpool & Wolverine could also pay off other threats made by Kang the Conqueror in his brief MCU history. Most notably, He Who Remains warned that destroying the Sacred Timeline would unleash his other variants on the MCU, and while Quantumania teased the Council of Kangs, the villainous group has made no moves in the year since. Deadpool & Wolverine could include a mention of the Council of Kangs, or potentially even see the group destroyed, allowing Marvel Studios to move on with a new villain.
One issue with this idea is that Deadpool & Wolverine appears to take place prior to Loki in the MCU timeline, as the TVA have been confirmed to have recruited Deadpool to protect the Sacred Timeline. Loki season 1’s finale saw the Sacred Timeline destroyed and the multiverse unleashed, which ended up being protected by Loki at the end of Loki season 2. This means that Kang the Conqueror might not yet pose a threat, should Deadpool & Wolverine take place earlier in the timeline, though it’s possible that He Who Remains could be watching over the mutants’ every move.