Marvel Producer On Not Repeating MCU"s Thanos Mistake With Kang

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Marvel Studios is actively trying to find a way to make sure the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't repeat their big Thanos mistake with Kang the Conqueror, producer Stephen Broussard reveals. After the Infinity Saga, the MCU is currently building towards its next culmination with the Multiverse Saga. That means the franchise needs another ultimate big bad that will motivate the Avengers to re-assemble, and in this case, that would be Kang the Conqueror.
Thanos is one of the best MCU villains thus far, so comparisons between him and Kang are inevitable. But, as beloved as the Titan was, Marvel Studios had some missteps in setting up his ultimate showdown with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios is aware of this and is actively finding ways to ensure that they don't repeat them with Kang, as revealed by Broussard on the Inside Disney podcast.

When we look back at the end of the Infinity Saga, while Thanos was the big bad, we didn’t really know where the first three phases were going, at least some of the Marvel fans like me, who may not have a strong familiarity with the comics. Now, when Kevin announced 'Kang Dynasty,' it feels like you gotta have Kang in everything. So obviously, he probably won’t be, but how do you balance setting up a Kang finale of sorts and not have him in every single project leading into it?
It’s a fair question, and with Thanos, he was teased in small increments as we went along. And the presence of the Infinity Stones was felt in different movies, right? So you could argue there was a throughline leading up to Infinity War and Endgame, even in the films that Thanos was not there.
We’re mindful not to repeat ourselves and so I think, right out of the gate, the notion of Kang, the idea of Kang, the idea of one actor playing radically different versions of this same character. We’ve gotten a taste of a few already, and you can see how different they are. Feels like fresh territory for us. So right there, each incarnation that you’re gonna see of Kang, as played by the brilliant Jonathan Majors, is going to feel very different, right?
So, it’ll set the table in interesting ways as you wade deeper into this character and what he means. I don’t think he’s going to appear in every film, as you say. Obviously, he probably won’t. I’ll also point back to what Kevin [Feige] said at Comic-Con, he branded the first cycle of movies was the Infinity Saga. We are in the Multiverse Saga. And that entails all sorts of things, right?

How Can Kang Be A Better MCU Villain Than Thanos

Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania's post-credits scenes were all about laying the groundwork for what comes next for Kang and his variants. This means the villain is expected to appear in upcoming shows and movies before his ultimate showdown with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. As Broussard said, this in itself differentiates the character from Thanos, who didn't really have a presence until toward the end of the Infinity Saga.
Aside from not repeating themselves in terms of setting up the MCU's next big bad, it also allows Marvel Studios to really develop Kang's character. Cramming Thanos' origin story in an already jampacked film like Avengers: Infinity War was a massive risk. For the most part, directors Joe and Anthony Russo, with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were able to make it work. But it would have been so much better if the MCU was able to spend more time with the Titan, especially considering how intriguing the character was.
Only time will tell if Kang the Conqueror becomes a better villain than Thanos. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't really known for coming up with strong villains since the franchise tends to focus on its heroes, work is still cut out for them to make Kang as iconic as his predecessor. Since Broussard made his comments, Majors has been arrested for assault; neither Disney nor Marvel have commented on Majors' arrest.
Source: Inside Disney
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