Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is set to kick off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so here’s everything we know about the MCU movie, from its release date and trailer to cast and plot details.
Since he was first teased in the final episode of Loki Season 1, Marvel fans have been counting down the days until Kang the Conqueror re-appeared in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Now, after San Diego Comic-Con has confirmed that Kang will be the next Thanos-level threat the MCU heroes face – with the next Avengers being titled The Kang Dynasty – the third Ant-Man is sure to be of massive importance to the franchise.
Here is everything we know about the upcoming movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania release date
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released on February 17, 2023, kicking off the MCU’s theatrical run next year.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed that the third Ant-Man movie would be the first movie of Phase 5. While the film was originally set to release after The Marvels, the MCU release order was changed earlier in 2022.
Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania trailers
The first trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, was released on October 24 and can be found below:
The trailer shows newcomers to the MCU Bill Murray, Jonathan Majors (now as Kang the Conqueror), and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang.
Compared to the previous two Ant-Man films, Quantumania appears to be much more central to the larger MCU. While the trailer shows off the humor and tone that fans have come to expect from the MCU, it does also feature a much darker and sinister narrative.
The movie also appears to be leaning into the sci-fi genre in a much more committed way, with new creatures and characters being brought into the universe.
Additional footage was shown at CCXP 2022, which gave more insight into Kang’s power level.
Kang’s reference to knowing how Scott’s reality will unfold sounds eerily similar to the words He Who Remains (a variant of Kang) spoke to Sylvie and Loki in the finale of Loki Season 1.
Another trailer arrived on January 10, just a few weeks out from its full release. This time fans got an even closer look at Kang and his objective with Scott Lang. During this new footage, we even got our first look at MODOK in live-action form.
On January 25, a behind-the-scenes featurette was released to show some of the cast reaction to the upcoming adventure, as well as flesh out the motivations of some of the characters. Most interestingly, Michelle Pfeiffer admits that her character Janet Van Dyne “would have made different choices” during her time in the Quantum Realm, which seems to support fan theories that Janet is responsible for Kang being trapped in the Quantum Realm.
A new trailer released on January 30 was notable for two reasons. First, it included the line from Kang to Scott “you’re an Avenger…have I killed you before?” This line had been teased since the first Comic-Con footage but hadn’t been shown in an official preview, but it shows just how powerful Kang is that he doesn’t even remember killing one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Second, this trailer is the first time in any of the footage that anyone addresses Kang by his actual name. In previous trailers, he was unnamed and, even though it has long been known that Jonathan Majors was playing Kang the Conqueror, this finally confirms it.
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Another new trailer released on February 6 gave some more information about the movie, showcasing some mysterious new characters who appear to be part of a faction within the Quantum Realm opposing Kang. We also got several clips of the presumed final battle, including what appears to be a giant spider.
Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania cast
The major cast and characters from the first two Ant-Man movies will be returning for the third installment. This includes Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Other regular cast members like Luis (Michael Pena) and the “wombats” have not been confirmed to return.
Newcomers to the series include Kathryn Newton, who will play an older version of Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (replacing Emma Fuhrmann who played the role in Avengers: Endgame).
A new look at Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors in ‘ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA’. pic.twitter.com/6tmlZ36YRI
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 21, 2022
Jonathan Majors will portray Kang the Conqueror, the villain of the movie. He reprises the role from Loki, where he portrayed He Who Remains (largely speculated to be a variant of Kang). However, Kang will play a much larger role in this film and is shaping up to be the next big bad of the MCU.
According to director Peyton Reed, Majors’ villain will have a “profound impact on the MCU.”
“Jeff Loveness, who wrote this movie, is writing The Kang Dynasty as well, so there’s been a lot of discussion about the impact that this appearance of Kang The Conqueror makes. There are big things in store,” he told Empire.
In addition, Bill Murray has been cast in an undisclosed role. The villain MODOK has also been confirmed to appear in Ant-Man 3, rumored to be played by Jim Carrey or Corey Stoll.
Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania plot
The official synopsis for the movie reads, “Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with Hope’s parents Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, go on a new adventure exploring the Quantum Realm.”
Not much else is known about this adventure, why they are venturing into the Quantum Realm, and how they would encounter Kang and MODOK in the Quantum Realm. However, the latest trailer did tease an unsteady alliance between Kang and Scott Lang. One that sees Lang trying to make up for lost time with his daughter during The Snap, but one that predictably turns sour amid Kang’s unquenchable thirst for absolute power.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, actress Kathryn Newton hinted at what audiences can expect from Cassie Lang and how the character has changed since reuniting with her father after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
“She’s just trying to figure out how to be a good person and you know, making a lot of mistakes. She’s kind of a mess and so am I… You’re definitely gonna see some of that. But a good heart.”
We’ll update this article upon further announcements about Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Be sure to check out our other TV & movies hubs below:
Deadpool 3 | Fantastic Four | Avengers: The Kang Dynasty | Avengers: Secret Wars | Marvel Zombies | The Marvels | Agatha: Coven of Chaos | Venom 3 | Daredevil: Born Again | Blade MCU | Captain America 4 | Avatar 2 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse