Early Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania concept art just surfaced online that depicts a decidedly more badass take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s supporting villain, MODOK.
Concept artist Aleksi Briclot shared his “twisted and fucked up” MODOK design on Instagram. It differs from MODOK’s aesthetic in the finished film in several ways, most notably by encasing the baddie’s oversized head in an eerie, semi-transparent dome. In the accompanying image caption, Briclot stated that he tried to stay true to how MODOK is portrayed in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s comic book source material, while also “pushing [this design] further.” Briclot also noted that part of the challenge when conceptualizing the MCU’s MODOK was coming up with ways to obscure his connection to original Ant-Man antagonist Darren Cross.
Briclot’s unused MODOK design arrives as MCU fans continue to debate the merits of MODOK’s portrayal in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. A vocal corner of the franchise’s fanbase maintains that the movie should’ve treated MODOK more seriously and is holding out hope that Marvel Studios will rethink its approach to the character in future projects. However, that’s not likely to happen, according to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness. “As long as I’m alive, they’re not gonna get that serious adaptation that those four fans want,” Loveness said in a recent interview. “He’ll be a big dumb head. That’s all.”
Ant-Man 3 Star Defends the MCU’s MODOK
Actor Corey Stoll, who plays Darren Cross/MODOK, previously expressed similar sentiments, defending Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s polarizing spin on the character. Stoll also addressed the controversial decision to combine Cross and MODOK, praising Loveness, director Peyton Reed and star Paul Rudd for making the “very strong choice” to revise MODOK’s established backstory. “I think it really works. It certainly works in the context of Darren’s arc,” he said.
Stoll even shouldered some of the responsibility for MODOK’s more comical depiction in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Specifically, he revealed that he pushed Marvel Studios to keep a scene featuring MODOK’s bare butt in the final cut. “They showed me a brief animatic of that scene, and, I mean, I laughed hysterically. I thought it was so brilliant and funny,” Stoll said. “Then I heard that they were going to cut that scene, and I lobbied pretty hard for them to put it back in. I can’t take credit for having that in there, but I will.”
Source: Instagram
