2023 was a big year for actress Katy O’Brian, who’s known from shows like Z Nation and Black Lighting. First, she got to double dip into the Marvel pool by playing Jentorra in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, having previously contributed to the MCU by playing Kimball in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7. Additionally O’Brian reprised Elia Kane in The Mandalorian Season 3, with the character having an especially meaty role in the episode “The Convert.” As it turns out, the actress’ experiences on these major franchises couldn’t be more different from one another, with O’Brian describing working on Quantumania as “absolutely chaotic.”
The 31st of the Marvel movies in order opened to mixed critical reception in February 2023 (CinemaBlend’s Ant-Man 3 review rated it just 2 out of 5 stars), and it also underperformed commercially, making just a little over $476 million worldwide. O’Brian starred as Jentorra, a warrior living in the Quantum Realm, and as she explained to EW, she and the other actors had to endure a lot of last-minute changes during the shoot:
Yeah, that was absolutely chaotic. I think we were getting new pages until the last day, and I think I was getting new fights the last day. I just show up, and they're like, here's a new fight.
Katy O’Brian added that the people she worked with on the third Ant-Man movie couldn’t have been more “lovely,” as she was worried that she’d be ignored or feel out of place, but those around her “ just always made it as welcoming as possible.” As least that aspect of the production was pleasant for her, but otherwise, it sounds like the overall experience was pretty stressful. Following Quantumania’s release, Marvel Studios was reportedly “really shook” by the negative reaction to it because the company thought it had something “good.”
Ironically, O’Brian’s experience on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was exactly what she expected coming aboard The Mandalorian would be like, but it was quite the opposite. Here’s how she described what it was like working on the Star Wars TV show, which, like Quantumania and most of the MCU’s offerings, can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription:
It's funny; I had thought that Star Wars sets would be chaotic because I know obviously it's a huge fan base, and they all have opinions and things, and I had heard rumors as well that the sets were crazy and stuff was just changing all the time. But I don't know if it's because of streaming or if [series creator] Jon Favreau just got it on lockdown or what the deal is, but Mandalorian was pretty seamless. It doesn't feel chaotic. It feels effortless. I know it's not, but it feels effortless. Everybody just works together really well, and I think they do their best to keep it like a family.
Elia Kane was introduced in The Mandalorian Season 2 as an Imperial officer under Grand Moff Gideon’s command, and while it initially looked in Season 3 liked she’d been rehabilitated by the New Republic’s amnesty program, that proved not to be the case at all. She was still taking orders from Gideon and secretly sabotaged the mind-wiping process done on Dr. Penn Pershing, whom she pretended to befriend. She was last seen communicating with Gideon over hologram about the Mandalorians’ latest activities, and her current whereabouts are unknown. Per O'Brian's comment, it sounds like creator Jon Favreau and his team have done a good job of ensuring that the making of The Mandalorian goes as seamlessly as possible for her and the rest of the onscreen talent.
While it seems doubtful that Katy O’Brian will ever reprise Jentorra given that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania isn’t on the books and there’s no indication we’ll return to the Quantum Realm in another project, if the actress is brought back, fingers crossed that things go more smoothly for her the next time around. As for Elia Kane, it’s also unclear if she’ll pop back up, but with The Mandalorian & Grogu greenlit for a theatrical release, that’s as good a place as any for her to pop back up. The same goes for The Mandalorian Season 4, although it hasn’t been clarified yet if that’s still happening now that that the movie is in development.
As always, keep checking back with CinemaBlend for the latest news on both upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows, as well as the lineup of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. Katy O’Brian’s newest movie, Love Lies Bleeding, is playing in theaters now.
