BRB, crying over Paul Rudd.
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s extended 20-plus film Infinity Saga, most respectable superhero films came in trilogies. Production studios did three at a time, switching actors or ending their runs. Marvel has attempted to stick to that model for the stand-alone superhero adventures within the larger framework; however, some characters who didn’t arrive until Phase 2, like Ant-Man, only got two installments before Endgame. That trilogy will close with Phase 5 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Unlike Captain America, Iron Man, or Thor, Ant-Man never quite had the heft of his Avengers friends. The irony was that he and Wasp were part of the Avengers’ initial lineup in the comics. (Hawkeye and Black Widow take up their roles in the movie version.) But Marvel would never leave its incredible shrinking friend behind, and the first two Ant-Man films brought much-needed comic relief to the sometimes too-serious franchise. As one of the few couples in the MCU, Ant-Man and Wasp have great bickering chemistry, and of course, there’s fast-talking Luis, whose recaps of Avengers’ exploits could be its own Disney+ series.
But for the third and last outing, Ant-Man’s story will turn serious, as it introduces one of Marvel’s greatest villains of all time. Let’s run down everything we know about the next small-sized outing that’s sure to be larger than life.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Trailer
On Oct. 24, 2022, Marvel released the full trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, featuring Kathryn Newton taking over the role of Scott’s daughter Cassie. It looks like the Lang daughter is following in the family’s scientific footsteps, but sadly, her quantum realm shenanigans appear to kick off the events of the new film.
The second trailer for the Ant-Man conclusion arrived on Dec. 1, 2022, as part of Marvel’s presentation at Brazil’s Comic Con. The new clip confirms that this installment of the superhero stand-alone story is ending things, with much of it tying the events of the first and second films together and how they’ve led to this.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Cast
When the third Ant-Man movie was initially confirmed in November 2019, the titular Ant-Man himself, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, was announced as returning. It was also confirmed that Evangeline Lilly would continue as The Wasp/Hope van Dyne. Michael Douglas will be back as her father, Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother, Janet van Dyne.
The big news was the recasting of the newly grown-up Cassie Lang, Scott Lang’s daughter. The first two films had her played by Abby Ryder Fortson, with Emma Fuhrmann taking on teenage Cassie for Avengers: Endgame. Now in her early 20s, Cassie will be played by Kathryn Newton, who is expected to reprise the role later in any Young Avengers films or TV series.
In September 2020, Marvel announced Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country) would play the film’s primary antagonist. At first, his role was kept under wraps before he was finally revealed as Kang the Conqueror. Since then, Majors appeared as a different variant of the character, He-Who-Remains, in Loki Season 1 on Disney+. That series ended with He-Who-Remains murdered, and a new variant of Major’s character, assumed to be Kang, currently ruling the TVA. Though it is doubtful Tom Hiddleston will appear as Loki in Quantumania, viewers expect that the film’s events will directly affect Season 2.
Other actors confirmed to reprise their characters in Quantumania include David Dastmalchian as Kurt, though oddly, there’s no mention of Michael Peña returning as Luis. Also, Randall Park will be back as Jimmy Woo, Lang’s former parole officer who was last seen in WandaVision. Gregg Turkington will be back as Dale, the Baskin-Robbins manager. And in the first crossover from Disney+’s Marvel series with Hulu Marvel series, M.O.D.O.K., a mutated, cybernetically enhanced individual with an oversized head, will cameo.
The trailer confirmed Bill Murray would also appear in the film, playing an undisclosed villain. Ruben Rabasa, William Jackson Harper, and Katy O’Brian are also cast in unknown roles.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Plot
But in August 2020, Reed hinted this would be a much larger story in terms of scale than the first two: “There’s some really, really, really exciting things in store, none of which, of course, I could speak to you about right now, as is the Marvel way...” Reed said during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “I think the third Ant-Man movie is going to be a much bigger, more sprawling movie than the first two. It’s going to have a very different visual template.”
Fans didn’t understand how big Reed meant until Major’s debut as Kang in Loki. Even so, the trailer and the synopsis suggest this film will be as big a turning point for the new Marvel Saga as the arrival of Thanos.
Super-Hero partners Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together with Hope’s parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures, and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Filming Updates
Ant-Man 3 had been floating about in the MCU conversation for a while, ever since the Phase 3 success of Ant-Man and The Wasp. In 2019, Marvel confirmed the movie would happen, with director Peyton Reed signed on to make a third Ant-Man film.
But with the end of the Infinity Saga, it wasn’t clear if the final Ant-Man installment would be wrapped up in Phase 4, much like Hemsworth’s Thor: Love & Thunder did or punted to Phase 5 to make room for bigger superheroes. Even the announcement that the film would arrive in 2023 didn’t do much to clarify things, as it was unclear where the designated breaks between phases would fall.
In July 2021, SlashFilm reported filming had officially begun for Ant-Man 3 after six months delay due to ongoing Hollywood shutdowns. Principal photography concluded towards the end of the year, in November 2021. However, it wasn’t until San Diego Comic Con 2022, when Marvel confirmed the layout of Phases 4, 5, and 6, that the film was confirmed to be the kick-off adventure that would launch Phase 5.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Release Date
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will premiere exclusively in theaters on Feb. 17, 2023.
The first two Ant-Man films are streaming on Disney+, along with most of the Infinity Saga.
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