Ant-Man 3’s Corey Stoll Wants a M.O.D.O.K. Prequel

There is no Darren, only MODOK. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s iteration of the fan-favorite mechanized organism designed only for killing, a rebuilt version of Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross from Ant-Man (2015). This was a departure from source material, as the comic version of MODOK goes by the real name of George Tarleton and is the result of experimentation by AIM, not Kang the Conqueror. Outside of the origin alterations, the MCU’s MODOK retained the character’s signature look, that being a massive head with baby limbs stationed in a floating suit of armor.

Warning – The rest of this article contains spoilers from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

While MODOK spends most of his Quantumania time fighting side-by-side with Kang, he finds redemption towards the end of the third act. Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang inspires a bruised and beaten down MODOK to use the last moments of his life for good. MODOK complies, uniting with Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym’s intelligent ants to barrage Kang. Moments later, the honorary Avenger takes his final breath.

Speaking to ComicBook.com’s Jenna Anderson, Stoll entertained the idea of revisiting MODOK in a darker prequel project.

“I think having gone so comedic with this, it would be fun to maybe go back before the events of this movie and see him as this really scary, mechanized organism designed only for killing,” Stoll said. “But I don’t know if the audience could take him seriously after the events of this movie. So it could be fun to see him actually try to be an Avenger.”

As Stoll alludes to, Quantumania‘s MODOK relied heavily on laughs, but his comic iteration is quite the opposite. The print version of the character very much lives up to his acronym, as he ruthlessly slaughters his enemies and holds his own in battles against Captain America, Namor, and Hulk.

Quantumania indicates that MODOK spent his entire existence post-Ant-Man (2015) in the Quantum Realm, so a possible movie, series, or special presentation would likely be set completely in that microscopic universe. Outside of prequel possibilities, there’s every chance that thousands of other MODOKs exist in the multiverse, meaning Stoll could potentially reprise the role in a variant capacity down the line.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently in theaters.