'Who has the definition of cinema?' Ant-Man's Jonathan Majors responds to MCU criticisms, thinks it's 'cool' if he mitigates some hate

Say whatever you want about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and whether it's lived up to the standards of cinema — renowned directors like Martin Scorsese and James Cameron certainly have.

However, it is a fact that the MCU has managed to secure some of the most talented actors to play in their sandbox. Come on, we've had Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac, Michael Keaton and Tony Leung.

Not to mention, Angela Bassett just became the first actress to nab an Oscar nomination for a Marvel role.

And coming up soon, there's Jonathan Majors, who has garnered much critical acclaim for roles in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Lovecraft County and Magazine Dreams.

In case you've somehow missed it, he plays Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and will go toe-to-toe with the smallest Avenger.

Despite the rave reviews following his career, Jonathan doesn't know if playing Kang will change people's perception of the MCU nor is he thinking about it.

"We've got bigger fish to fry but I will say that my career up until this point, the beautiful thing about joining the MCU for me, was they never asked me to change my approach to acting or how I view the work," the 33-year-old said in response to AsiaOne during a regional media interview in early February.

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He explained that his approach to a comic book villain like Kang is the same as his approach to the upcoming Creed 3 (which stars fellow Marvel actors Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson) and even indie films like The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Magazine Dreams.

"So what the folks and the people think and say, you know, I'm quite interested to hear it. Because we make it for them — ultimately the art is for the people. So if the portrayal of Kang, with me stepping into the MCU, can help bring in more viewers and kind of mitigate the hate, that's cool.

"If not, I mean, ain't no pony going to stop no show, you know what I mean?"

As for the remarks about the MCU not being real cinema, Jonathan replied: "People are gonna think what they want to think. I mean, a lot of it (the criticisms) is ignorance, you know, and a lack of process. There are things that happen in making a, quote-unquote, Marvel film that are different, but there are a great deal of similarities as well...

"People think like 'What the hell is cinema?' It's like, who has the definition of that? You know what I mean? But I think I understand what was being put up when they say that."

Reading is fundamental

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The couple, along with Hope's parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott's daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm. In order to escape, they have to face off against Kang.

The film also stars Bill Murray and William Jackson Harper.

Admitting that there is "a lot of expectation because the mythology of Kang is so great", Jonathan said he personally held himself accountable for reading as much as he could about the character.

He shared: "First day I got the job, officially, I went to the comic bookstore and bought every single thing that even referenced Kang or a Kang variant. There's a certain amount of expectation and responsibility — even if we don't show all that stuff in Ant-Man or in Loki, I have to know because it's something that may or may not come up later.

"I guess there's pressure to commit and to take it in, you know, and live up to what it is the comic books are saying and then for myself to then push that forward."

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens in cinemas on Feb 16.

ALSO READ: 5 movies and TV shows to watch before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

bryanlim@asiaone.com 

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