Bill Murray's character in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, Lord Krylar, is more important than most viewers will realize. Marvel has begun its final marketing push for Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, releasing a final trailer during the National College Football Championship game. The studio also confirmed some final casting decisions; Bill Murray is playing the character of Lord Krylar, while Katy O'Brian is Jentorra.
These characters are pretty deep cuts into Marvel Comics lore. In the comics, both Lord Krylar and Jarella are associated with the Hulk; they lived within the subatomic realm called the Microverse, and the Hulk became stranded there for a time. He fell in love with the Princess Jarella, a woman who accepted both the Hulk and Bruce Banner personalities, Lord Krylar was Jarella's rival for the throne of the subatomic planet K'ai, and he died in his first appearance, The Incredible Hulk #156.
Lord Krylar Confirms Ant-Man & the Wasp's Quantum Realm Is The MCU's Microverse
These are only minor casting decisions, but they are important because they confirm Marvel has merged the Quantum Realm with the Microverse of Marvel Comics. In truth, there was always a clear connection between the two; Dr. Spiros Michalakis, a quantum phycisist who consults with Marvel, itted as much in a blog post back in 2015. He recalls getting an email from Marvel Studios' Brad Winderbaum, co-producer for the first Ant-Man film, asking if he could come up with an alternative for the name "Microverse" because of legal baggage. "I offered 'going nano', 'going quantum', 'going atomic', or… 'quantum realm,'" Michalakis recalled.
Ant-Man's Quantum Realm may have been inspired by the Microverse, but at first it seemed to have very different properties. Initial glimpses of the Quantum Realm suggested it was inimical to life, and it was only in the sequel Ant-Man & the Wasp that it began to feel as though it could life. As Phase 3 continued, more secrets of the Quantum Realm were revealed, and it began to feel more like a dimension in the comics called Limbo. This is a plane of existence that every time traveler accesses as they move from one point in spacetime to another, and it is the traditional home of the warlord Kang the Conqueror. Now, though, it's becoming clear the MCU's Quantum Realm should be seen as a combination of Limbo and the Microverse.
Bill Murray's Lord Krylar Opens The Door To Far More Marvel Characters In The MCU
This means the MCU's Quantum Realm isn't just home to Kang the Conqueror; it potentially contains countless worlds and civilizations. Marvel won't be able to use all these characters for the same reason the studio had to avoid the term "Microverse" in the first place; many aspects of Microversal lore are linked to the Micronauts franchise, which Marvel briefly had the comic book rights to back in the 1970s. Writer Bill Mantlo's son received some Micronauts action figures for Christmas, and Mantlo was able to encourage then-editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to reach out to Hasbro and propose a comic book series.
But Marvel can certainly some of the Microversal characters and concepts from the comics - the original ones, whose rights are not controlled by Hasbro. This even includes of the Guardians of the Galaxy, such as the hero simply called "Bug" - a character who was once considered for the MCU Guardians film, but was dropped due to fears over the complicated rights. It even includes the Enigma Force - a cosmic energy tied to the Microverse that was recently redefined in the comic book King in Black event. The Enigma Force is traditionally a blue energy, and it may not be a coincidence the powerful energies seen in the Quantum Realm in the latest Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania trailer are all blue. It's possible Katy O'Brian's Jarella and Bill Murray's Lord Krylar really have set a precedent the MCU will explore sooner rather than later.
