You know that feeling when you're watching a massive blockbuster and a voice kicks in that sounds hauntingly familiar, but the face on screen is basically a pink lava lamp? That's the David Dastmalchian experience in the MCU. Specifically, the weird, winding road he took through the Ant-Man trilogy.
Most people remember him as Kurt. The skinny, brilliant, slightly paranoid Russian hacker with the Elvis hair who hung out with Luis. He was part of the "Three Wombats," the heist crew that gave the first two films their grounded, San Francisco charm. But then 2023 rolled around with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Kurt was just... gone. No explanation. No mention of where the X-Con security team went.
Instead, we got Veb.
Veb is a gelatinous, hole-obsessed creature living in the Quantum Realm who drinks "ooze" to translate languages. It’s a wild pivot. Honestly, it’s one of the strangest casting choices Marvel has ever made—taking a fan-favorite human character and replacing him with a CGI slime mold voiced by the same guy.
The Mystery of the Missing Wombats
So, what happened to Kurt? If you were looking for a deep, lore-heavy reason why Scott Lang’s best friends didn't make the cut for the third movie, the reality is a bit more mundane. It basically came down to "too many cooks in the kitchen."
Director Peyton Reed has been pretty open about the fact that Quantumania was a massive departure. He wanted to do a "sprawling sci-fi epic" rather than another street-level heist movie. When you're trying to introduce Kang the Conqueror, explore the Quantum Realm, and give Cassie Lang her own superhero origin, there isn't much room for a group of guys sitting in a van in San Francisco.
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"It’s a very crowded story," Reed told The Hollywood Reporter. He didn't want to just give Kurt a 10-second cameo that didn't do the character justice. So, the decision was made: the X-Con crew was out.
Dastmalchian actually found out the news through a personal call from Reed. Imagine that—getting a call from your friend saying, "Hey, your character isn't in the movie, but I have this idea for a pink creature who is obsessed with human holes."
David Dastmalchian Ant-Man Evolution: From Kurt to Veb
The transition from Kurt to Veb wasn't just a voice-over gig. Dastmalchian was actually on set in a motion-capture suit.
He's talked a lot about how this role came at a pretty dark time for him personally. He was dealing with family illness and the exhaustion of back-to-back shoots. Playing a weird, joyful creature like Veb was sort of a therapeutic escape. He even came up with a "butt wiggle walk" to give the CGI artists an idea of how a creature without bones would move.
Why Veb is actually the "real" David
It sounds like a joke, but Dastmalchian’s friends told him after the premiere that Veb is the most "him" character he’s ever played.
- The Physicality: He spent hours hunched over on set to interact with Paul Rudd and Kathryn Newton at the correct height.
- The Voice: He developed a gurgling, high-pitched tone that felt "oozy."
- The Heart: Veb represents the innocent, curious side of the resistance in the Quantum Realm.
Interestingly, Veb serves a massive plot purpose. Without him, Scott and Cassie wouldn't be able to understand a word anyone was saying in the Quantum Realm. He is the literal "universal translator" of the movie.
Double Duty in the MCU: A Rare Feat
Dastmalchian is now part of a very small club of actors who have played two distinct roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He joins people like Gemma Chan (Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and Sersi in Eternals) and Michelle Yeoh (Aleta Ogord in Guardians 2 and Ying Nan in Shang-Chi). But Dastmalchian is unique because he did it within the same franchise. Usually, Marvel tries to space these things out so audiences don't get confused, but because Veb is a total CGI transformation, they figured they could get away with it.
It speaks to how much Peyton Reed and Kevin Feige value him. You don't bring an actor back as a blob unless you really like working with them.
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What’s Next? The Future of Kurt and Veb
As of 2026, we haven't seen either character since the events of the third film. Dastmalchian has joked in interviews at SDCC about having a "bit of beef" with Marvel because neither Kurt nor Veb has been called back for the recent Multiverse shenanigans.
Kurt did technically reappear in the What If...? animated series (specifically the zombie episode), but as we know, that’s a different timeline. In the main 616 universe, Kurt is presumably still running X-Con Security, probably wondering why Scott hasn't answered his texts in three years.
As for Veb? He's still down there in the Quantum Realm, hopefully enjoying his newfound "holes."
Actionable Takeaway for Fans
If you're a fan of Dastmalchian's specific brand of "weird guy" energy, don't just stop at Ant-Man.
- Watch "Late Night with the Devil": This is where he truly shines as a lead. It’s a 70s-style horror flick that uses his intensity perfectly.
- Check out his DC work: He played Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad. It’s a great companion piece to his Veb performance—both are "monsters" with a lot of heart.
- Read his comics: Dastmalchian is a huge comic nerd and has actually written his own series like Count Crowley. It gives you a lot of insight into the "monster kid" energy he brings to Veb.
The David Dastmalchian Ant-Man journey might have shifted from hacking computers to drinking ooze, but it remains one of the most interesting "hidden" stories in the MCU's history. It’s a reminder that even in $200 million movies, there’s room for an actor to just get weird in a gray onesie.
The next time you rewatch the trilogy, keep an ear out. The guy freaking out about the Baba Yaga in 2015 is the same one asking Scott Lang about his anatomy in 2023. It's a full-circle moment for one of Hollywood's most underrated chameleons.