by Veteran MCU writer David Dastmalchian shared further details on his Quantum Realm character Veb from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
For Paul Rudd‘s third solo outing in the MCU, Ant-Man 3 provided a completely new group of characters and marked the first time the Quantum Realm was fully explored. The next Avengers-level danger from Marvel Studios, Kang the Conqueror, was even fought by a completely new group of heroes and fighters from the sub-atomic realm.
David Dastmalchian, who played a new character named Vab as a member of that group, joins a select group of MCU performers who have appeared in multiple Marvel Studios motion pictures or television programmes.
Also, Dastmalchian was prepared to take on an exhilarating new challenge in this live-action trilogy after his work in the first two Ant-Man films as the ex-con Kurt and his entertaining performance in Episode 5 of What If…? on Disney+.
Ant-Man 3 Star Shares Crazy Backstory of Veb
David Dastmalchian, who plays Vab in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, delved into the history of his new MCU character in an exclusive chat with Richard Nebens of The Direct.
Dastmalchian gushed about how much joy it was to watch the “old school, Marvel, science-fiction magic” come to life through characters like Veb when questioned about his own headcanon for Vab in Ant-Man 3:
Nebens: “So going more into Vab, the Quantum Realm was obviously taken by the big bad daddy of the MCU now, Kang the Conqueror. Before this movie began, I can tell you’re the kind of person who thinks about this. What’s like your headcanon for Veb’s backstory before he joined that group?”
Dastmalchian: “So fully understanding the power of what’s going on cellularly and molecularly with Veb, and what happens with Veb, and Vab’s kind of transcendent, bio-experience, where the ability of Veb’s bodily fluids to have an effect on other creatures’ brains that does something with their communication vortexes is, to me, the kind of stuff that evolves and grows out of that old school, Marvel, science-fiction magic.”
The actor reflected on Marvel’s Micronauts and the Fantastic Four books he read as a child, which were directly relevant to the work he did on this film as he created his new character:
“And I was thinking a lot about Micronauts when I was thinking about Veb. I was thinking a lot about what was going on in the ’70s and ’80s, Fantastic Four comics that I was first getting… because I got a box of ’70s Fantastic Four [comics] when I was like in the mid-’80s, and I fell in love with them. And then into the ’80s especially, I was reading a lot of Fantastic Four. There’s all this stuff about these kind of characters and these creatures.”
He further pointed out how Kang the Conqueror is much like the conquerors of the real world, who aim to separate people as much as possible: He praised Veb as a “beautiful little being” with “this incredibly powerful ability” to connect people through his ooze.
“And I felt like with this being, this beautiful little being Veb, having this incredibly powerful ability, I made the choice, [not] mean as much to Veb as the bond that Veb felt with all the other beings that shared Veb’s source. I believe we all came from the same source, and when the Conqueror took over, as we know from the conquerors of today, one of the best ways to conquer people is to separate them.”
By examining “people who can’t speak the same languages” and those who are viewed as different, Dastmalchian further examined this topic from a real-world perspective, identifying Veb as someone who can “connect beings” in a special way:
“We see it constantly thrust in our face where people in power want to convince you and I that people who can’t speak the same languages as us, people who look different than us, people who come from different places than us, people who worship differently than us are somehow much more different than us than they actually are. What Veb possesses is the ability to connect beings, right? The Conqueror has wiped out every being that has that potential.”
The new character is “[his] kid’s favourite character” that he has ever played on screen, according to Dastmalchian, who concluded his response by stating that Veb is “the last of its kind”in the Quantum Realm:
“So all of Veb’s family, everyone connected to is pretty much gone now. Veb, as far as he knows, is the last of its kind. I’m hoping and praying there’s another Vez or a Pez out there somewhere. But I found that to be very powerful, and very emotional, and as silly and fun as the character is – And by the way, he’s my kid’s favorite character I’ve ever played – I think it’s kind of heavy like that, and I love it.”
Ant-Man 3 Will Be Veb’s Big Break
The MCU’s use of Dastmalchian, who played the wild Veb in this threequel after playing Kurt in the first two Ant-Man films, has only served to further cement his place in comic book movie history.
He was able to join a large group of MCU regulars who have stated a desire and demonstrated the capacity to make the world a better place for all because of this position, which also made him feel more connected to everything happening in the real world.
The main concern for fans going ahead is if David Dastmalchian will appear in more MCU films, whether it’s as Veb or Kurt.
After bringing such a fun round of comedy in his debut outing for the animated MCU series, many are eager to see one or both of his heroes make a reappearance in What If…? Season 2. And with the Quantum Realm possibly acting as a sizable set piece for upcoming films like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the veteran Marvel character might have a chance at additional success in the years to come.
In theatres all throughout the world, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently showing.
