Who Is Marvel's Lord Krylar? A Deeper Look Into Bill Murray's Ant-Man Character
Peyton Reed's 2023 superhero flick "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," the 31st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has, as of this writing, earned over $475 million worldwide. Sadly, because MCU films typically cost so much to make, that $475 million is considered only a middling box office run. "Quantumania" reportedly cost a massive $200 million, before marketing, meaning that the film broke even at best. Additionally, the film wasn't well-liked by critics, earning only a 46 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is low, but it's especially notable, given that most of the previous 30 films in the series were pretty much given a passing grade.
"Quantumania" was busy and strange. The plot took the title heroes (Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly) and their family (Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton) into a microscopic dimension. The bulk of the film takes place in the teeny-tiny Quantum Realm, a dimension populated by a myriad of sentient alien beings. The Michelle Pfeiffer character had only recently returned from the Quantum Realm, having been trapped there for decades. She refused to tell her family about her time in the Quantum Realm for two reasons: 1. She didn't want anyone to know about the dangerous tyrant Kang (Jonathan Majors) who had been imprisoned there, and 2. She didn't want Dr. Pym (Douglas) to know about an affair she might have had with a human-looking character named Lord Krylar.
Lord Krylar is played by Bill Murray, a surprising presence to find in a film as broadly mainstream as "Quantumania." Krylar also didn't play a major role in the film's plot, only appearing in a barroom scene to deliver exposition and imply his sexual adventures with Pfeiffer.
Was Krylar from Marvel Comics? Is he new? Who is this guy?
The most obscure character yet
It turns out that Krylar might be the most obscure Marvel character yet to have been included in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Krylar first appeared in "The Incredible Hulk" #156, published in July of 1972. Krylar's final appearance was also in "The Incredible Hulk" #156, published in July of 1972. In the comics, Krylar was an alien from a planet called K'ai, one of the worlds contained within the Quantum Realm. He had green skin and a beard. It's quickly explained in the comics that Krylar is a mercenary, belonging to a guild called the Pitll Pawob Assassins. Krylar also invented weapons and widgets for Lord Visis, the ruler of K'ai.
In the comics, when the Hulk attacked Lord Visis, Krylar handed his master a device that manifested the Hulk's greatest fear. It seems the only thing the Hulk feared was ... another Hulk. For a brief moment, there were two Hulks. Krylar's device, however, malfunctioned, the secondary Hulk disappeared, and Visis murdered Krylar in anger.
And that was it. Krylar never returned to Marvel Comics.
Most superhero fans will likely be able to elaborate on the many, many, many characters throughout the Marvel universe who have died, only to be resurrected. For Marvel characters, death is a mere inconvenience. Krylar is the rare character who died in Marvel Comics and stayed dead. He wasn't seen again until Bill Murray played him. And, from the looks of it, he was a brand-new character. He was essentially playing Bill Murray. This version of Krylar is the ruler of a city called Axia, and who has chosen to work with Kang rather than risk the tyrant's punishment.
He gets to tell the characters what M.O.D.O.K. stands for.
Murray doesn't like superheroes
It may not surprise the reader to hear that Murray wasn't a big fan of superhero cinema. Now 73, Murray has chosen a career trajectory that allows him to act only with his favorite directors: in recent years, he has stuck close to filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, and Jim Jarmusch. He wasn't itching to be in a Marvel project and likely didn't know a lot about Ant-Man. According to an interview with Variety, though, Murray started to consider dabbling in the massive mainstream project when he put together that "Quantumania" would be directed by Peyton Reed, the maker of the 2000 cheerleader comedy "Bring It On." Murray liked "Bring It On," and said: "I agreed, although I'm not interested in these huge comic book adaptations as an actor otherwise."
As reported by /Film back in February of 2023, "Quantumania" star Kathryn Newton ExtraTV that it was she who got Murray the gig. Evidently, the two actors were competing in the same golf tournament (!) and so they had one another's contact information. Newton had told Murray that her next acting job was in "Ant-Man," and he would call Newton at her home a few weeks later asking her if it was cool if he joined.
The future of the MCU is currently uncertain, as Jonathan Majors has been fired by Disney after being found guilty of assault, and his over-arching supervillain storyline will need to be rewritten. Also, given that superhero films are pretty consistently tanking, it seems certain that production on the genre will slow in general. As such, it's unlikely that Krylar will return to the MCU. His film appearance, it seems, was just as brief as it was in the comics.