Summary

Kang the Conqueror was exiled to the MCU Quantum Realm by his own variants in the Council of Kangs due to his attempts to eradicate them and become the sole Kang in the multiverse.
The Council of Kangs, led by powerful variants like Immortus and Rama-Tut, united against Kang after he was defeated in the Quantum Realm by Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Cassie Lang.
Although Kang was seemingly killed in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his survival is hinted at, and his return is made more likely by the events in Loki season 2, which demonstrate the reversal of fates and the changing nature of the multiverse.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania reveals why Kang the Conqueror was exiled to the MCU Quantum Realm, and who sent him there. Existing as one among several variants in the vast multiverse that has opened up, Kang the Conqueror was properly introduced into the MCU timeline with Peyton Reed's third Ant-Man film, after being teased in Marvel Studios' Loki season 1 on Disney+, where Jonathan Majors debuted as He Who Remains. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, MCU audiences finally get more insight into this time-traveling despot and his primary rivals.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

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In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it's revealed that Janet van Dyne and Kang have a history together back when they were both stranded in the MCU's Quantum Realm. Although she helped Kang rebuild his multiverse-traveling ship without knowing his true motivations, Janet stole its energy core to ensure Kang would never be able to leave after discovering his dark past. As Quantumania continues, Kang confirms he was exiled to the Quantum Realm by none other than himself - variants of Kang whom the film's Conqueror claims feared him and chose to imprison him in the subatomic universe outside of time and space.

Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains in Loki Season 1 Finale

What's Going On With Jonathan Majors?

After his MCU debut as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Jonathan Majors was arrested for assault. Here's what's going on now.

The Council Of Kangs Exiled Kang To The Quantum Realm

Kang the Conqueror explains to Janet van Dyne that his other variants exiled him to the Quantum Realm due to his attempts to eradicate them. Essentially, his mission was to become the only Kang in the multiverse - under the pretense of saving the multiverse from his other selves - a version he will forge himself as he sees fit. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's end-credits scene confirms that the Council of Kangs did indeed unite against him, and presumably any rogue Kangs just like him, despite seeming to be a corrupt group of villains themselves.

Led by a trio of powerful Kang variants, including Immortus, the Egyptian Pharaoh Rama-Tut, and a version of the Scarlet Centurion, the Council of Kangs consists of a veritable army of conquerors. Kang's multitude of variants had been brought together in response to "the exiled one" being defeated in the Quantum Realm by Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Scott Lang's daughter Cassie, now portrayed by Kathryn Newton, who reveals a suit of her own in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As such, there appear to be thousands of different Kang variants, making them a sizable threat that will likely play a major role in Phase 6's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Why Was Kang Exiled To The Quantum Realm?

kang exiled to the quantum realm in ant-man 3

With Kang having used his powers to destroy countless worlds and entire timelines in an effort to erase his variants from existence, it makes sense that the Council of Kangs would want this particular version sent to the Quantum Realm. It's the one place where he could no longer affect time and space or harm them. Likewise, the exiled Kang the Conqueror is not unlike He Who Remains from Loki, another, perhaps more peaceful, variant of Kang. He Who Remains managed to create the self-contained "Sacred Timeline", effectively stopping any more Kang variants from appearing before his demise at the hands of Sylvie unraveled it.

However, the multiverse has now been reopened and Kang's many variants have been unleashed on the MCU, coming together as a formidable and perhaps unstoppable force in the form of the Council of Kangs. Both He Who Remains and Kang the Conqueror have provided warnings of the destruction their variants can cause - a point which is highlighted at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as Scott Lang is left with an impending sense of dread. It seems that, despite his exile, Kang the Conqueror might not actually be the greatest threat facing the MCU's future.

How Kang Can Escape The Quantum Realm (Despite His Death)

Speaking to The Wrap in February 2023, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed suggested that Kang the Conqueror might not actually be dead after being thrust into his exploding multiversal power core. He mentions how the audience sees "Scott Lang struggling with that question" and notes that the "no body, no certainty" rule might be in effect - Kang's dead body wasn't actually seen, so there's always a chance he could return. Some theories suggest Kang the Conqueror has been dragged into the Probability Storm seen during Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which would perhaps allow him to return in a future MCU project.

The MCU Probability Storm would theoretically see Kang face off against his variants should he be trapped in it, which would mean an even stronger version of the villain would emerge victorious from it, perhaps allowing the franchise to justify him as a future villain even after being defeated in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

How Loki Season 2 Makes Kang Surviving Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania More Likely

Loki season 2 supports the idea that Kang could return shortly in the MCU, both by illustrating ways certain fates can be reversed, and by changing the nature of the multiverse itself. The most transparent of these is that Loki season 2 sees Victor Timely killed off and then revived, and He Who Remains also returns within the season for a short but impactful reunion with Loki. Having two out of the three main focal Kang variants shown being returned from deadly fates certainly suggests this would be more than possible for Kang himself, especially with the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania having already teased it being likely.

Since Kang was sucked into the vortex of his Multiversal Engine - previously used to travel space and time - it would perhaps make more sense for the villain to have been transported somewhere else rather than killed outright years before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. This is doubly plausible since the ever-expanding nature of the current multiverse would leave a variety of possibilities open.

While the Council of Kangs state Kang has been "killed" by Ant-Man, it's worth note that pruning is also classified as killing by several characters in the MCU, despite this actually sending the being in question to the Void. As such, this scene could instead be establishing that Kang has once again gone outside of the usual parameters of reality - a concept audiences have seen before via locations like the Void or Quantum Realm. With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania establishing that Kang has seen a huge swath of the prior multiverse in his lifetime, it's hard to not imagine the villain having a lot of tricks up his sleeve when it comes to escaping both death and his variants.