Everyone has their hot takes about the MCUs latest dud, but arguably one of the most unforgivable crimes Quantumania commits is doing away with the original supporting cast.
Fans vented their frustration with the decision to cut certain characters out of the movie. Included in the list is Luis (Michael Pena) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian), two of Scott’s closest allies who helped him plan and enact his heists and continue to help him fight against numerous villains. Both have been involved in Scott’s adventures across two films and fans came to see them as much as they came to see Ant-Man.
Although they’re not the only characters to find themselves cut out. Scott’s ex-wife and her fiancé, who were both significant to the plot of the first film, were nowhere to be seen in Quantumania. Perhaps Marvel thought that fans wouldn’t notice their absence. But they did, and they’re not particularly happy about the decision.
The Ant-Man films contain a strong supporting cast with many fan favorites and, arguably, they were what made the Ant-Man movies stand out against the rest of the MCU titles. Viewers were particularly distraught by Luis’ absence. Pena’s character tends to steal every scene he’s in with his comedic personality. Both movies had a running joke with him that involved his storytelling, and fans were expecting the joke to continue in Quantumania as well. For some, his character being cut from the film is a dealbreaker.
Many complaints revolved around Ant-Man and co. being sucked into the Quantum Realm too early in the story. It would have been better to prioritise time with characters the audience recognised before introducing a whole new world. Even just having a five-minute scene with Luis would have made the film more tolerable. Although David Dastmalchian can be heard in the film, he’s voicing a different character, so it was of little solace for viewers.
Of course, it was always inevitable that some characters would be cut due to the ambitious goal of setting up the Phase Five and Six big bad: Kang. Although choosing Ant-Man to be the film to bring such a big-time villain into the MCU may have been a misstep — to put it lightly. It looks like fans would have rather seen another Ant-Man film in the same vein as the first two rather than the big-scale, universe-saving quest that Quantumania turned out to be.
