QUANTUMANIA Writer Reveals Surprising Inspiration For M.O.D.O.K.’s Personality

The full trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuted earlier this month, giving us a first proper look at M.O.D.O.K. in action.

Fans already had some idea of how the “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing” would look thanks to some leaked promo art, but the trailer gave us a quick glimpse of the megalomaniacal villain without his mask, revealing a far more comic-accurate design.

“MODOK is maybe my single favorite thing that I got in the movie,” writer Jeff Loveness tells SFX magazine. “Obviously we are very faithful to the comics with the design and the look, but then there is a little bit of extra we put into him. Maybe I’ll get fired off The Kang Dynasty when people see it, but some of my favorite moments come from MODOK and the dynamics there.”

So, we know M.O.D.O.K. will resemble his comic book counterpart, but will his personality also take inspiration from the page?

“I’ll just say he was inspired by Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Frank Grimes in an old Simpsons episode – this really put-upon, selfish, entitled but then also deeply sad, insecure man who knows that he got a shit deal in life and is trying to make the best of it.”

That sounds a little more like the version of M.O.D.O.K. from the recent Hulu animated series than how the character is typically depicted in the comics, but we’re certainly intrigued by the Otto (“don’t call me stupid!”) comparison!

“His ego will crumble the second he’s challenged, but then also like Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, he’s pretty good at killing people,” Loveness adds. “He’s a real loose cannon character, and I had a great amount of fun with him. That was almost day one in the room – we cracked MODOK as a character and the movie just became so fun.”

Though his casting still hasn’t been made official, M.O.D.O.K. will be brought to life by Corey Stoll, who played Yellowjacker in the first Ant-Man (we assume they’re one and the same).

Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.

Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania also stars Jonathan Majors as Kang, David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as Quaz and Bill Murray as Lord Krylar.

The sci-fi adventure opens in theaters on Feb. 17, 2023.