Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is going to introduce plenty of new characters, but some of these new characters will be portrayed by old faces. David Dastmalchian, who previously played Kurt in the Ant-Man films, will now play a new character.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania takes audiences into the Quantum Realm again. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is now an influential figure following the events of Avengers: Endgame, in which he played a key role in defeating Thanos. Now that he's reunited with his daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), after five long years apart, he finds that he missed out on many milestones in her life. Compounding this issue is the villain Kang (Jonathan Banks), who might be stronger than Thanos.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dastmalchian will not play Kurt, the Russian ex-con, this time. Instead, he will play a new character known as "Veb." He joins the ranks of actors who have played two roles in the MCU, a distinction shared by only a handful of actors. Among the most notable are Gemma Chan, who played Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and then Sersi in Eternals, Mahershala Ali, who played Cottonmouth in Luke Cage before playing Blade in the film of the same name, and Alfre Woodard, who had a small role as a grieving mother in Captain America: Civil War before playing Mariah Stokes in Luke Cage.
Though audiences now know Veb's name, the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania role remains a mystery. Given that large portions of the film will take place in the Quantum Realm, Veb may be a denizen of the Quantum Realm. The character may also be one in which Dastmalchian is unrecognizable to avoid confusing fans. On the other hand, the Ant-Man films are known to be humorous, so a joke about Veb looking exactly like Kurt wouldn't be surprising.
Dastmalchian has been making a name for himself as a character actor lately. He recently played Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad, a character considered Z-list in the comics and usually used as little more than a joke or piece of trivia, and turned him into a fan favorite. His turn as Kurt was also memorable, and his conflation of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) with the Baba Yaga became a meme among MCU fans.
Quantumania will certainly be a very different Ant-Man film. Scott's team, which included Kurt in previous films, likely won't show up, at least not beyond his best friend, Luis (Michael Peña). The Ant-Man family is in for their greatest fight yet, as they must leave behind everything they were once familiar with.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released in theaters on February 17, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter