The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a giant place, thanks to the constant stream of new releases in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were thrilled when The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released and finally brought that titular team of heroes into the fray. Although Ant-Man star David Dastmalchian thinks his character Veb needs to jin the group. And he makes a solid point.
Dastmalchian has a long history in the superhero genre, including his role in The Dark Knight and The Suicide Squad (which are streaming with a HBO Max subscription). He’s also played Scott Lang’s buddy Kurt in the first two Ant-Man movies, before playing the oozey creature Zeb in Quantumania. In an interview with The Direct, he explained why the latter character would be useful for the Fantastic Four, offering:
I tell you what, I think that it makes no sense that the Fantastic Four are going to be traipsing around all the different universes within the galaxies and all these different realities and all these different beings and creatures from other places. They need a Veb to help interpret all the language barriers.
while H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot is the team’s go-to assistant, he presumably doesn’t know how to understand alien languages a la C-3PO. So if the Fantastic Four end up having more adventures in space in upcoming Marvel movies, they could use the ooze-related translation skills from Veb. Talk about an unexpected (but appropriate) crossover.
Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door on that. First Steps did well in theaters, and that titular team has already been confirmed to return thanks to Avengers: Doomsday’s cast announcement. But David Dastmalchian seems to think they could use his weird character from Ant-Man 3 on their future journeys. Although the idea of seeing Veb again in the MCU seems pretty unlikely, especially after Quantumania’s box office performance.
Some fans were bummed when it was revealed that Scott Lang’s buddies from X-Con Security Consultants were not going to appear in Ant-Man 3, after being scene stealers throughout the first two movies. That’s what made David Dastmalchian’s surprise character for Quantumania such a treat. Veb had a small but memorable role in the threequel, using his ooze to help Scott Lang understand the alien languages being spoken to him. And there are plenty of cosmic heroes who might be able to use this specific (gross) skill.
The Fantastic Four’s future will be revealed when they return in Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th of next year as part of the 2026 movie release list. As for Dastmalchian, he’s been keeping busy with role in Dexter: Resurrection and The Creep Tapes.