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The actor previously played ex-con Kurt in the first two Marvel films.
By Aaron Couch
Senior Editor, Heat Vision
David Dastmalchian is double dipping in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor, who played Russian ex-con Kurt in Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) is returning for the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. However he will not be playing Kurt, and instead is stepping into a new role, a character named Veb.
Dastmalchian is now one of the few actors to play multiple roles in the MCU. Gemma Chan appeared in Captain Marvel as Kree sniper Minn-Erva and then went on to lead Eternals as Sersi. On a different note, Mahershala Ali starred as the antagonist Cottonmouth in Marvel and Netflix’s Luke Cage and now is set to lead Blade.
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Dastmalchian’s career has changed dramatically since he was first cast an Ant-Man nearly a decade ago. Back then, he was a struggling actor best known for small roles in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. When filmmaker Edgar Wright cast him in Ant-Man, it marked a turning point, as the comedic role was a departure from his darker work of the past. Wright eventually departed the project, which put Dastmalchian’s continued involvement in doubt. Luckily for the actor, new Ant-Man director Peyton Reed knew Dastmalchian’s Dark Knight work and was a fan of Prisoners as well. Reed kept him on the project, asking him to come back for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Now Dastmalchian has become a big-budget movie regular, starring as The Polka-Dot man in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and reuniting with Villeneuve for Blade Runner 2049 and Dune. Coming up, he is reteaming with Nolan for Oppenheimer (July 21) and also has 20th Century and Hulu’s The Boston Strangler (March 17) and Amblin horror feature The Last Voyage of Demeter (Aug. 11).
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania once again stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer, with franchise newcomers including Kathryn Newton and Jonathan Majors. The film is due out Feb. 17, with a new trailer bowing Monday night.
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