Warning: This article will contain spoilers from the previous Ant-Man films, as well as some theories about the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
After years of anticipation, it’s almost time to see Jonathan Majors in action as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Just like his name implies, he aims to conquer. Only, he’s not just looking to take over a world or a universe, but the entire Multiverse. The launch of Phase 5 will slowly allow Marvel fans to begin putting all the puzzle pieces from Phase 4 into their correct places. As Phase 5 of the MCU plays out over the next few years, there are bound to be some sacrifices in this Multiversal war, and it all starts here.
Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania looks like it will be all about that precious resource that we call time. Scott (Paul Rudd) and Cassie lost five years and will be trying to make up for that time. Both Hank and Hope lost 30 years away from Janet, and despite her warnings, they may be tempted by Kang’s promises of more time. Kang himself has been ticking down the clocks, anxiously awaiting his time to conquer, rule, and destroy.
With these films, there are always some things that were referenced that people are scratching their head about. If viewers have watched Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame, and Loki, they should be in a good place. Based on trailers for the movie, there’s going to be a lot of information to process. Here is some additional information to remember before grabbing yourself a bag of popcorn and getting comfortable in a theater chair.
Scott and Cassie
Expect some bonding moments between Scott and Cassie (Kathryn Newton) while he tries to figure out who his daughter is as a young woman. Remember, he was left stranded in the Quantum Realm for five years after Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) were all blipped away during Thanos’ snap.
Scott and Cassie were very close when she was young, but he missed out on a big chunk of her life, so this movie will be about Scott trying to make up for lost time. In the trailer, Kang hints to Scott wanting those years back as the time lord promises he can give Ant-Man the one thing he wants most — time.
Quantum Healing Particles
Scott originally went back into the Quantum Realm during the post-credit scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp. He was there to locate some Quantum Healing Particles to help stabilize Ava Starr, aka Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who was suffering from quantum entropy and needed quantum energy to survive. While the character has not been seen in the MCU since then, she is currently listed as a member of the upcoming Thunderbolts cast. Despite rumors to the contrary, the character’s appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be a great way to transition her story to the Thunderbolts movie in 2024, and help tie everything together. We don’t know if she will make an appearance in the film, but it would be a good time for her character to return. If she’s been suffering from quantum entropy all these years, she may be pretty angry at the main protagonists for essentially forgetting about her.
M.O.D.O.K.
Many people assumed Kang was going to be the only villain inside the Quantum Realm until Marvel released its latest trailer, showing M.O.D.O.K. at the 57-second mark (floating behind Kang) and then again at the 1:46 mark. M.O.D.O.K., which stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, is a highly intelligent being who is basically a giant head on a tiny body. If the face at the 57-second mark looks familiar, that’s because he is being portrayed by Corey Stoll. Stoll starred as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket, the main villain from the first Ant-Man film in 2015.
At the end of Ant-Man, Darren Cross held Cassie captive. As Yellowjacket is about to kill Cassie, Scott goes subatomic, and destroys the Yellowjacket suit. One of the glass eyes in the suit bursts, causing the suit’s destabilization. Darren’s body begins to shrink down before seemingly disappearing into nothing. Presumably, the eye glass breaking as his suit destabilized and going subatomic all at once could possibly be the reason for his disfigured appearance, though we will have to wait to find out.
Janet Van Dyne
Janet Van Dyne was originally in the Quantum Realm for more than 30 years, and during that time, she learned a thing or two about survival but also gained abilities after living there for three decades. From the looks of the trailer, she clearly knows Kang from her time in the Quantum Realm and knows he is not to be trusted. It’s probably safe to presume that she probably befriended Kang before she saw his true colors.
Since Janet has experience in the Quantum Realm, her expertise will be invaluable while our heroes navigate the unknown during Quantumania. Of course, in order to survive, she probably made enemies along the way, so that could also be addressed in the upcoming film.
William Jackson Harper
There has been buzz around William Jackson Harper since it was first revealed he would be joining the MCU in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Good Place star has been rumored to be portraying a whole slew of characters, most notably Mr. Fantastic. He’s also been rumored to be playing Doctor Doom, Miles Morales, a Kang variant, and even The Watcher. His IMDb profile finally updated, which shows him listed as a character named Quaz, who is a telepath and freedom fighter in the Quantum Realm.
This could be Quasar, a superhero who frequently takes trips to other dimensions. He wears quantum bands that allow him to manipulate quantum energy. Theories abound about Shang-Chi’s 10 rings and Kamala Khan’s bangle possibly being linked to Kang and the Quantum Realm, so him being Quasar sounds plausible and would help link Phase IV to Kang.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray’s character was finally revealed in early January as Lord Krylar. He will be a blast from Janet’s past and should stir up some trouble. Krylar is the governor of a bizarre-but-cushy community within the Quantum Realm. Just the basic information on the character hints that he will be similar to Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok.
According to Marvel’s official character database, a character name Krylar lived in the subatomic realm known as the Microverse. The shady character is a weapons dealer with a slew of mercenaries at his dispense. Krylar only appeared in one issue of Incredible Hulk #156 and was killed off in the story, so Murray’s character may not stick around very long.
Kang
As He Who Remains warned, Loki and Sylvie during the events of Loki, his many variants will come to wreak havoc across the Multiverse. Presumably, the variant inside the Quantum Realm is Kang the Conqueror. It will be interesting to find out how he got there and whether or not it was by force.
Kang looks like he will be trying to manipulate Scott and stab our hero in the back, no doubt. Obviously, Janet has seen the true man behind the façade when she was last in the Quantum Realm, but it looks like Scott may have an internal struggle since Kang seems to be promising him the time he lost with Cassie.
With an infinite number of Kangs across the Multiverse, the chances are probably pretty good that more than one is trapped inside. The trailer also makes it look like there are multiple Scott Lang’s inside the movie, but that could be a trick Kang is playing on Scott.
Although Ant-Man films usually end on a happy note, this one will likely not. As the name implies, Kang has to conqueror, and this is where his conquering begins. We’re just hoping that when the credits roll, there won’t be any casualties from Team Ant-Man.
Advance tickets are now on sale. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released on Feb. 17.