Jeff Loveness is the screenplay writer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, plus has been hired to write for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Kang Dynasty. He recently spoke with SFX magazine about the upcoming Ant-Man film, where he spoke on the design inspiration for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, also known as MODOK. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be the first live-action MCU adapatation of MODOK, and Corey Stoll will be the large egotisitcal genius sitting in the chair. Corey Stoll also played the iconic villain Darren Cross in the first Ant-Man movie, also known as Yellowjacket as named after his technological weaponised shrinking suit. However, Corey Stoll’s Yellowjacket was seen being reduced to atoms and deemed dead, but it could be possibly that Cross was sent to the Quantum Realm and will become the official MODOK in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the comics and several other adaptations, MODOK is usually the genius scientist George Tarleton, and it could still be Tarleton’s MODOK unless they decide to change up the origin a little bit. There has been no official confirmation as of yet on whether MODOK will be either George Tarleton or just an enlarged-head version of Darren Cross. One thing is for sure, however, which would be the fact that the enlarged face inside the MODOK suit is definitely Corey Stoll. Jeff Loveness spoke to SFX Magazine on how he helped get MODOK into the movie, on how MODOK may just be his favourite character in the whole film, plus provided some insight on the live-action design’s inspiration.
ALSO READ: New Quantumania Promo Art Reveals New Look At Cassie Lang’s Suit & Helmet
Marvel Comics’ MODOK Inspiration
From the glimpses of the MCU adaptation of MODOK, it is pretty clear that the design is mostly inspired off of the original illustrations from Marvel Comics. While talking to SFX Magazine, Jeff Loveness confirms this and says that the team were “very faithful to the comics with the design”, as many fans have given praise for online judging by the promotional footage alone. In 2022, a design of MODOK had reportedly been revealed through supposable images of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania merch being shared online, which looked remarkably different than what we got to see in the trailer. When this supposable design was seen by the Marvel fandom, the response was that of fans being worried that the live-action MODOK wouldn’t be able to live up to its legacy. However, the brief glimpses in the trailer fixed that by revealing the incredibly recogonisable design that fans have grown to love over the decades.
Jeff Loveness does also say that they added a “little bit of extra” details into the newly adapted version of the villainous character, which will probably not be seen until the third installment officially releases. The studio shows two main shots of MODOK in the official trailer, one being an exposed face view and the other being the fully armoured version, and this was probably shown just to ensure fans that MODOK had been treated with the highest respect when being designed for the threequel. Loveness also added that some of his “favorite moments come from MODOK” and that “MODOK is maybe my [HIS] single favorite thing that I [HE] got in the movie”. Loveness also joked that maybe he will just “get fired off The Kang Dynasty when people see it [MODOK / ‘ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA’]”, but judging by the hype and excitement for the movie, that will hopefully not become a reality.
ALSO READ: Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon Movie Reportedly In The Works
Kevin Kline and Simpsons Inspired MODOK Design
Although Jeff Loveness confirmed that the Marvel Comics version of MODOK was a main part of the live-action design process, he also spoke a little on the overall character inspiration for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. When continuing his interview with SFX Magazine, Loveness said that the MCU MODOK was also “inspired by Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Frank Grimes in an old Simpsons episode”, Kevin Kline who played Otto in the Charles Chrichton classic A Fish Called Wanda. When you compare any adaptation of MODOK to these two iconic antagonists, it just makes complete sense as to why Jeff Loveness and his team used them as inspiration.
Kevin Kline’s Otto in A Fish Called Wanda had an extremely sensitive ego, and would get extremely angry if his ego was hurt, similar to how MODOK behaves in both comic and animated form. The iconic antagonist to Homer Simpson in the 23rd episode of the eigth season of The Simpsons known as Frank Grimes is also a perfect choice to use as inspiration just due to the revenge-plotting natature behind the character. You could even say that Frank Grimes is more of a George Tarleton, pre-MODOK, and Otto from A Fish Called Wanda is more of a MODOK, which are both the exactly same person in a sense.
ALSO READ: Maguire, Garfield & Holland Spider-Men Meet Miles Morales In Fan Art
Via: GamesRadar.com
