Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has the potential to be an amazing movie with a story that could see a lot of plots years in the making. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marking the end of Phase Four, Ant-Man 3 begins a new phase, and from here on out it’s a journey to an epic war against Kang the Conqueror.
Looking at it from a distance, Ant-Man might be the most unsuspectingly important character in the MCU. Without the use of the Quantum Realm, the remaining Avengers wouldn’t have been able to travel back in time to collect the Infinity Stones in Endgame. Now in Quantumania, he faces off against one of the biggest Marvel supervillains of all time, Kang, and the events that transpire here will set the tone for the MCU moving forward. It’s a heavy weight to carry for the pint-sized hero (although ants can carry up to 20 times their bodyweight).
These are 10 predictions for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that could make MCU’s Phase Five extraordinary.
Cassie Lang becomes Stinger
It’s evident from the marketing material for Ant-Man 3 that Cassie will play a big role in this story. Scott lost out on five years of being with his daughter because he was in the Quantum Realm, and it’s eating away at him. She looks to have grown into a stronger person having been forced to face the world without her father. She’s got a knack for science and technology, and she’s the one responsible for creating a device that transmits a signal to the Quantum Realm. She’ll also be joining the adventure this time with her very own super-suit. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed, she’s on the path to becoming a superhero who will likely be named Stinger, following in the footsteps of Scott. This movie should allow her to develop in ways that demonstrate she has what it takes to hold her own against major threats. By the looks of things, the world and the Multiverse will need her.
Scott Lang goes back in time
Scott’s greatest regret is that he lost five years with his daughter after the Blip. He loves Cassie, and he’d do anything to get that time back. As luck (or bad luck) would have it, Kang might just be the one who can get that done for him. In the comics, Kang has referred to himself as the Master of Time with the ability to traverse the Multiverse. He’s not lying when he tells Scott that he can grant his wish. Scott getting back those lost years would mean so much for him and it would be an emotional moment, too, but there would also be a lingering dread because Kang does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Scott would ultimately have to pay for his wish, and he wouldn’t like the cost.
The Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel connection
There’s a scene in the newest Ant-Man 3 trailer that shows giant, rotating golden rings with symbols on them that look remarkably similar to the rings seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the Nega-Bands seen in Ms. Marvel. A connection could be made between them, and if it all ties together smoothly, it would make this story all the more massive in scope. Shang-Chi ended with monitoring a beacon coming from the Ten Rings to an unknown location, and instead of that location being from space, it could be from the Quantum Realm. In Ms. Marvel, the Nega-Bands convert mental energy into physical energy and had been in Kamala Khan’s family. The Nega-Bands allowed her to time travel to the past, and the Quantum Realm was used to travel through time, too. Also interesting to note, Captain Marvel arrived at the end of both Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel. It’s all adding up.
Kang breaks free
Of course, we like when the good guys win…but let’s face it, Kang has to break free in order to battle against the Avengers in Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. We want to see him go up against Captain America, Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel, and more, but it’s really how breaks out of this quantum prison that’s going to make all the difference. The Loki season finale set up a terrifying possibility of another Multiversal War if the Sacred Timeline branches off and more Kangs arise, and this feels like the beginning of that nightmare. Kang will be limited in his power in Ant-Man 3, hence why he’s stuck in the Quantum Realm, but to see him gain in power will be a thing of terror and beauty because his power levels are just that devastating. We want him to lose in the end, but he needs to put up a good fight for this is only the beginning.
Ant-Man variants
Multiple Ant-Mans will be in Quantumania, and it’s possible that these are variants of himself. One scene in the trailer shows him running alongside a giant Ant-Man version who’s being ripped to shreds, and another shows a whole colony of Ant-Men building a column towards the aforementioned golden rings just like actual ants do. The Quantum Realm should be a place of spectacular phenomena and could even include a quantum nexus, an intersection where time and space are united, so we want to see things get as strange as they possibly can. Scott using a Multiversal team to his advantage would be an ingenious way to solve the conflict.
M.O.D.O.K. and the Eternals
The newest Ant-Man 3 trailer revealed that M.O.D.O.K. will appear in the movie, and he could set the proverbial stage for the return of the otherworldly team. The floating, big-headed villain has psychic and psionic abilities. In one of his comic book origin stories ties he was a scientist who studied the monsters of Sin-Cong. They were actually members of the Deviant race who were seen in the MCU’s Eternals. Deviants were created by the Celestials as exterminators designed to hunt predators, but they evolved into predators themselves. This could be a way to bring the Eternals back into the central conflict since they missed the last big one.
Ant-Man’s allies and Kang
It’s not just Ant-Man who we want to see interact with Kang. Janet, the original Wasp, is a force to be reckoned with, and seeing her match wits with Kang would be intriguing. It’s possible that Janet has created a home in the Quantum Realm and has met Kang. They might have to work together to get out of their predicament, but when Janet becomes aware of his evil plans, it would be fulfilling for her to find some way to double-cross him and undermine him. With Kang, it’s not just a battle of might; it’s also a battle of wits.
Flashbacks of the Multiversal Wars
This Kang has possibly already conquered multiple realities, and it would be exciting (and awful) to see how much damage he can actually wreak. In Loki, He Who Remains mentioned that there had been previous Multiversal Wars when evil Kangs decided they wanted the Multiverse for themselves. The Kang variant shared that he had to use the powerful tempest entity known as Alioth to defeat them. He Who Remained then became the overseer of the Sacred Timeline, and this moment would be absolutely amazing to see. This is the kind of payoff that the MCU was built for.
Young Avengers foreshadowing
Not only should Cassie become Stinger, but there should also be some foreshadowing for the Young Avengers team. It’s one of the most highly anticipated, and as of yet unconfirmed, stories that fans want, and now is the perfect time to do it. Kang has a direct relationship with the Young Avengers team through his connection to Iron Lad, the younger version of himself who puts the Young Avengers together, and Cassie is on the team in the comic books. The movie will already have so much happening, but even a post-credits scene hinting that there’s Young Avengers content to come would be enough.
Ant-Man dies
As hard as this sounds, it’s time for Ant-Man to die. He’s become a major player in the MCU, but realistically, the stakes are just too high for him to come out unscathed. This is Kang we’re talking about. He’s powerful enough to beat the Avengers, and Ant-Man doesn’t really stand a chance against him. It would also bring a climactic end to this trilogy and make it known that Kang the Conqueror isn’t just some regular villain with empty threats; he means business. The scenes that have been released so far clearly show that this is a danger that Ant-Man has never experienced before. In one scene, Scott says, “I don’t have to win; we just have to lose.” This has an ominous tone to it, and seeing Kang lift his leg and viciously stomp on Ant-Man and a scene with his cracked helmet. The imagery of the cracked helmet implies that this might be Scott’s last stand.
