Corey Stoll relished his return to Ant-Man

Corey Stoll didn't need persuading to star in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'.

The 46-year-old actor returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Darren Cross/MODOK in the new blockbuster and jumped at the chance to come back after playing villain Yellowjacket in the original 'Ant-Man' film.

Reflecting on his casting, Corey told The Hollywood Reporter: "I got a call from my manager saying, 'Peyton (Reed, director) wants to talk to you about possibly coming back in the next movie and possibly coming back in a different form', and I didn't know what that meant.

"For the days I was waiting between knowing I had the call and talking to Peyton, my mind went into all these crazy ideas about what I could be playing, and with the multiverse, anything could happen. But I did not think of MODOK."

Corey – who has appeared in a number of Shakespeare productions on the stage - did not need to be convinced to take the part as he was motivated by his fear of the role.

The 'First Man' star said: "But there was no selling going on. I think Peyton thought he was going to have to convince me, because he called me before they actually wrote it.

"They had this idea to transform Darren into MODOK, but they wanted to make sure that I was on board to play him before they wrote it. And I was a hundred per cent on board."

Corey continued: "I know you were joking by comparing him to (my) Shakespearean roles, but the roles that scare you are the ones that you need to do. And this role was so crazy.

"You're putting so much faith into the hands of the filmmakers to complete your performance, and it's so broad. But there was no way I could not do it."