There are a number of possible characters Bill Murray could be playing in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and it's worth exploring the best ones. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has the unique task of introducing a character who could easily become the most powerful villain in the next saga of the MCU, Kang the Conqueror. Considering Loki introduced He Who Remains as Kang's benevolent counterpart and given that the multiverse is becoming more volatile with each MCU release, Quantumania will likely devote a lot of screen time to Kang. However, Bill Murray is rumored to play another villain in the Ant-Man sequel.

The various Ant-Men and Wasps in Marvel Comics are key members of the Avengers. For instance, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, the original Ant-Man and Wasp, were founding members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Yet there are very few villains who can be linked exclusively to the size-shifting Avengers. Ultron, Jocasta, A.I.M., Taskmaster, and Radioactive Man, for example, are all villains who constantly cross paths with different heroes besides Scott Lang and company. This leaves Ant-Man and Wasp without well-defined archnemeses, but it also gives their MCU movies more freedom to play around with new iterations of classic — or obscure — antagonists.

Related: Marvel's Next 6 Movies Are All MCU Sequels: Why That's A Problem

Just like the first Ant-Man movie turned Hank Pym's evil alter-ego "Yellowjacket" into a new character and how Ant-Man and the Wasp borrowed Ghost from Iron Man's rogue gallery, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could take some creative liberties with whoever Bill Murray is playing. There are countless characters the Ant-Man sequel could turn into new antagonists. However, it's possible that the Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day star has been cast as one of the following characters.

Old Scott Lang

Old Scott Lang in Avengers Endgame

To say that Avengers: Endgame had many plot points to juggle would be an understatement. It introduced time travel, alternate timelines, and the first appearance of multiversal variants in the MCU. Among everything the Avengers had to do in order to undo Thanos' Infinity War snap, it's easy to overlook that they casually found the cure for aging. When Smart Hulk uses the Quantum Realm to test time travel, he ends up "pushing time through Lang" instead of "pushing Lang through time." As a result, Scott is turned into a young boy, a baby, and an old man. While Kang's plans in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are still a mystery, using the Quantum Realm to tamper with age is a weapon that could come in handy. Kang could use his mastery over time travel to bring forth a villainous version of an older Scott Lang played by Bill Murray. Watching Paul Rudd's Scott Lang interact with his older self would definitely make for hilarious moments, as it would put the comedic chops of both actors to good use.

M.O.D.O.K.

MODOK attacks in Marvel Comics.

MODOK is one of the most famous Marvel villains who haven't been adapted in a live-action movie so far. George Tarleton, who became the Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, a.k.a. MODOK, after a shady experiment, is an extremely intelligent villain with only his ambition to match his oversized head. His volatile personality often leads him to battle a varied assortment of Marvel heroes, but it also leads him to craft short-sighted plans that often result in utter defeat. Although Hulu's animated MODOK show proved that the villain works well in that format, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could at least attempt to translate MODOK to live-action.

Loki briefly showed Yellowjacket's giant helmet stranded in the Void, which could set up Corey Stoll's Darren Cross as a new version of MODOK. However, Bill Murray’s comedic talents make him a no-brainer for this iconic bad guy. Murray can capture the sarcastic personality of a jaded villain who just wants to defeat the heroes to prove his worth. The MCU timeline makes it easier for this story to work, as George Tarleton could have been a low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. employee who was mutated while working on the Tesseract and is waiting for the right time to appear.

Related: What If Phase 1's Originally Planned Avengers Had Fought Thanos?

Elias Weems

Ant-Man vs Elias Weems in Marvel Comics

Bill Murray is reportedly not looking to sign a multi-movie deal with Marvel Studios. In that case, he would seem like a fitting casting for a minor villain like Elias Weems. In his brief appearance in Marvel Comics, Elias Weems is an older scientist who weaponizes an aging ray after being forced to retire. Given that the concept of time has become increasingly important for Ant-Man in the MCU, having Weems as a secondary antagonist would help Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania double down on the dangers of tinkering with it. As previously mentioned, the technology Elias Weems uses as a weapon already exists in the MCU, so bringing it back would tie loose ends. Besides, Elias Weems is the kind of funny, grumpy, one-off villain a big-name actor like Bill Murray would like to have fun with.

Growing Man

Growing Man vs the Young Avengers

Of course, the Ant-Man franchise can't completely abandon Ant-Man's main superpower in favor of time travel. Ant-Man seemed to have mastered his Giant-Man form in Avengers: Endgame, but a villain like Growing Man could provide him with new challenges. Growing Man is a Vision-like android who grows larger the more energy he absorbs, and his weakness comes from the same source as his power, as he reaches a point where he can't support his own weight. The MCU hasn't given viewers a giant vs. giant fight yet, despite Bill Foster's Goliath form being teased in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Growing Man is another good fit for Murray as a blank slate he can imbue with personality, and it doesn't hurt that the android is originally a weapon designed by Kang the Conqueror. Alternatively, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could cast Bill Murray as other size-shifting villains such as Erik Josten, who's associated with the antiheroes of the Thunderbolts team under the name of "Atlas" and could be adapted in the MCU as a former colleague of Hank Pym and Bill Foster.

Jack of Hearts

Jack of Hearts using his powers in Marvel Comics

A minor Marvel character with a complex history, Jonathan Hart, a.k.a. Jack of Hearts, is usually the catalyst in other famous heroes' stories. Jack of Hearts receives explosive powers from a substance created by his late father, but even though his origin story sets him up as a hero like Spider-Man or Daredevil, his most notable achievements are his accidental murder of Scott Lang and his transformation into a zombie. In the comics, Jack of Hearts' accidental explosion that kills Scott Lang is the first sign that Scarlet Witch is altering the fabric of reality, and it leads Cassie Lang and the Young Avengers to use time travel to undo the tragedy. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Cassie Lang's attempt to save her father through time travel could link her to Kang the Conqueror and his Young Avengers counterpart, Iron Lad. Bill Murray could nail the tragicomedy of Jack of Hearts' unfortunate contributions perfectly in the movie.

More: Phase 4's Strangest Movie Can Answer One Huge Loki Ending Mystery

Key Release Dates