‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ reducing its number of writers by 500 percent hasn’t exactly paid off

Much to the dismay of the fans who were hoping that the divisive Phase Four would prove to be an anomaly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania continues slipping downwards on Rotten Tomatoes.

The opening chapter in Phase Five and the kickoff to the Multiverse Saga currently holds a dwindling score of 51 percent on the aggregation site, bringing it closer and closer to the place at the bottom of the barrel currently occupied by Eternals. There are many reasons why the threequel has proved to be a disappointment, but one of the most curious could be the lack of cooks in the kitchen.

Not only does Quantumania mark the first of the three Ant-Man movies where Paul Rudd didn’t received a writing credit, but it’s also the only one to boast less than four scribes. Jeff Loveness is the sole name attributed to the screenplay, and it would be safe to say that whittling the number of scribes down by no less than 500 percent hasn’t exactly reaped dividends.

Across the first installment and Ant-Man and the Wasp, the roster of names to have contributed to the scripts features Rudd, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari – four on the first and five on the second – with the leading man the sole figure to have their input in the first two chapters.

Loveness flying solo hasn’t quite paid off based on the consensus, and one of the after-effects is that it’s going to create concern about his impending foray back into the MCU when he starts hammering Avengers: The Kang Dynasty into shape.