Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

The movie is getting worse review scores that the first two Ant-Man movies but is expected to make more money.

But it definitely isn't a good one, and certainly not what Marvel needed to jumpstart a new phase in the MCU and give it a North Star to move towards," reviewer Phil Owen said. "It's not a bad movie, per se, which is on some level probably a credit to the Marvel machine. 2015's original Ant-Man made $57 million over its three-day opening weekend. [Earlier projections had the film earning $120 million for the four-day weekend](/articles/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-projected-to-make-120-million-in-its-opening-weekend/1100-6510909/), but downward revisions are not totally out of the ordinary. Quantumania is the first new Ant-Man movie since 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, which earned $75.8 million over its opening weekend--that total was for a traditional three-day window. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is poised to have a massive start at the box office this weekend, with projections saying it could set a new record for the series.

Returning Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily in the titular roles, Marvel's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' is the first event pic of 2023.

Three years later, the second film, [Ant-Man and the Wasp](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/ant-man-and-the-wasp/), started off with $75.8 million in North America before topping out at $622.7 million worldwide. Ant-Man 3 is making a huge 3D push following the success of Avatar: The Way of Water and, more recently, a 3D remastered edition of Titanic. [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-review-paul-rudd-evangeline-lilly-jonathan-majors-1235319646/) is hoping to open to at least $110 million domestically over the four-day Presidents Day weekend, including $95 million for the three days. Overseas, Ant-Man 3 could start off with anywhere from $130 million to $190 million. The cast also includes Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Bill Murray, Katy O’Brian, William Jackson Harper, James Cutler and David Dastmalchian. [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania/) reunites director Peyton Reed with actors [Paul Rudd](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/paul-rudd/) and [Evangeline Lilly](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/evangeline-lilly/). The upcharge for the format in North America could result in a bump in the mid- to high teens for Quantumania. The original Ant-Man earned a total of $105 million in China, followed by $122.2 million for the sequel. [box office](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/box-office/) opening of 2023 to date (granted, the year is only six weeks in) and top the holiday weekend chart. [Ant-Man](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/ant-man-2/) launched to $57.2 million domestically — the lowest start of any MCU offering — on its way to earning $519.3 million globally. More bullish estimate services show the movie coming in at $100 million to $105 million for the three days, and $115 million to $120 million for the four. Quantumania is the third title in the more low-key superhero franchise, and the 31st entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania first reviews call the Marvel film unfunny, flat and criticise the CGI.

The film will release in theatres on February 17. Critic Jim Schembri called it “essentially an animated film where the cast performed most of their roles in front of green screens... Already, its score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes is one of the worst ever in the history of the franchise. Many critics called it the worst Marvel film so far. As of Wednesday evening, Ant-Man 3’s Rotten Tomatoes score is 52% based on 140 reviews. The film kicks off the Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hence, a lot rests on its shoulders.

The latest film in the comic book franchise will be released in the UAE on Thursday.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror is one of the variants that He Who Remains wanted to stifle out of existence. Several new shows are also in the docket this year, including Secret Invasion, Ironheart, Echo and Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Other films that will be part of this phase include and Loki will both be returning for season two in the first half of the year as part of Phase Five. But, as it turns out, he was a more benevolent version of Kang and aimed to ensure a single timeline to keep other versions of himself from appearing. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania signals the beginning of the fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is the second MCU movie to get a "rotten" rating after "Eternals" in 2021.

[Insider's own review calls the movie](https://www.insider.com/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-review-kang-fun-clunky-2023-2) "fun, but clunky," pointing out that the script "struggles to keep things flowing in a way that doesn't give the audience whiplash." Critic Mick LaSalle said: "'Ant-Man' isn't an example of bad comedy. Ann Hornaday wrote: "The endearing sweetness of the early 'Ant-Man' movies, which tapped Rudd's ineffable charm, has been bigfooted into a noisy, smash-and-grab extravaganza that, for all its self-conscious bigness, feels smaller and less ambitious than its predecessors. But it could be better." Insider, however, praised Majors for being an "intimidating presence" as Kang and giving the movie a "genuine sense of gravitas." [Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror](https://www.insider.com/paul-rudd-jonathan-majors-ant-man-kang-first-meeting-interview-2023-2), the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new big bad ahead of [two "Avengers" movies in 2025 and 2026](https://www.insider.com/marvel-movie-release-date-schedule-2020-4).

It's a real indictment of any movie as unrelentingly loud, bombastic and big when you turn to your plus one in the screening room and find them asleep.

The post-Endgame era of Marvel has been crying out for some kindling, something to throw the afterburners on; this is just more ugly cement. In the meantime, daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who has seen no end of shit and is presumably in desperate need of a therapist, has been getting herself in heaps of trouble, protesting the crisis of homelessness in the wake of the snap. The object, then, is to get back to Big Earth: fortunately, Janet knows a guy from her own 30-year marooning down on the Quantum side, who they meet up with in a jovial (again, It's a shame he's given so much of that aforementioned, dawdling exposition to deal with. It's around an hour in that we're properly acquainted with Majors' Kang, by far the most compelling element at play: he emanates movie star gravitas, helped by the fact that he's the only guy who really seems committed to the bit. It's a real indictment of any movie as unrelentingly loud, bombastic and big when you turn to your plus one in the screening room and find them asleep.

Domestically, the superhero threequel is expected to make between $95 million and $100 million in its first three days, according to Variety, with the number ...

[Peyton Reed](https://collider.com/the-mandalorian-volume-technology-peyton-reed-comments/), who also helmed Ant-Man 1 and 2, declared heading into this one that he no longer wanted his films to be perceived as counter-programming within the MCU, and made it a point to craft a more epic narrative. Reviews for Ant-Man 3 have been generally muted, otherwise; this is only the second MCU film ever, for instance, to get a “rotten” score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The first Ant-Man tapped out with $519 million globally, while the second film finished with a little more than $620 million worldwide. Ant-Man 3 also happens to be only the second MCU film since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to score a China release. [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://collider.com/tag/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania/) have been lowered heading into its opening weekend. Domestically, the superhero threequel is expected to make between $95 million and $100 million in its first three days, according to [Variety](https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/box-office-preview-ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-opening-weekend-1235522559/), with the number increasing to $110 million across the four-day extended President’s Day weekend.

The third film in Marvel's Ant-Man trilogy sends the MCU's tinest titans into a subatomic universe, where they — and we the viewers — get stuck.

The characters of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, at least, are flat. Just look at the standard line item in the budget for, say, the Mysterious Glowing Object That's Terribly Terribly Important To Everyone In Whichever Marvel Movie This Happens To Be — in this case, that yellow orb thingy with all those metal rings flying around inside it that Kang wants, for reasons I can't remember now. ... Oh and also throw in a few bucks on coconut oil while you're at it. The voice actors record their tracks in separate sound booths at separate times. In previous Ant-Man films, we may all have looked past the thinness of his characterization, because the charming Ruddishness of the performance blinded us to it. She might as well be one of the CGI barstools.) But as I sat there watching Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, I started to wonder if perhaps, back when we as nerdy little kids wished for it, all those long years ago, someone snuck a monkey's paw into the whole affair. But in absolutely no way does it look like they did, and it sure as hell doesn't feel like they did. They could have made a film together at any time during that period and now, finally, here they are and here it is. When we eventually get a The Making Of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, we might well learn that those three actors actually filmed that scene together. Even more mind-boggling: This third Ant-Man film posits the purple, time-traveling despot Kang the Conqueror as a bad guy to take seriously. This time out, it's the entire Ant-Family that gets sucked down into the MCU's own microscopic Whoville, with its sunless, surreal, slimy Color Out of Space production design.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's Cassie Lang has a longer history in Marvel Comics than she does in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Cassie spends a lot of her childhood living in the headquarters of the Avengers after Scott is welcomed onto the team. Their comic book history could come into play on the big screen as Kang appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. She even sacrifices herself to stop him when he attempts to steal the Scarlet Witch’s reality-warping abilities, though her death is short-lived, as many comic book deaths are. Cassie Lang has seen people call her things like Ant-Girl and Giant Girl in reference to her own size-changing abilities, but there are only officially two code names in While that is true to a degree in the comics as well, that’s not always the case. Cassie and Kate Bishop, who become friends, attempt to join the team but are initially refused. Cassie decides to experiment with Pym particles herself, exposing herself to them regularly, hoping to become a hero like her father. He rescues a doctor (after stealing the Ant-Man suit and Pym particles) who could help prolong her life. Though Cassie is often thought of as a relatively new comic book character, she has been in Marvel Comics for over 40 years. Contrary to the MCU, Scott Lang’s criminal activity in the comics is done to save Cassie’s life. Many heroes and villains debut in Marvel Premiere to see how the audience reacts to them before they become part of an ongoing series. Byrne is best known for his work on X-Men and Fantastic Four among Marvel fans, but his prolific career also involved a lot of work on DC Comic books as well.

Before seeing "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," here's everything you should know from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He is devastated to learn that Hank, Hope and Janet are gone, but he discovers that Cassie survived the snap — and has aged into a teenager (although her exact age is Hank and Hope create a way to safely travel into the Quantum Realm using an invention called the Quantum tunnel. Hank believes that once a person goes subatomic, they irrevocably enter the Quantum Realm, a dimension that exists outside of our concepts of space and time. Despite the assurances of [Marvel Studios](https://variety.com/t/marvel-studios/) chief Kevin Feige that every Marvel title can exist on its own terms, the third “Ant-Man” film is neck deep in series lore as it launches Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the second act of the Multiverse Saga. [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://variety.com/t/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania/)” is a different beast entirely. And yeah, the introduction of the Quantum Realm in the 2018 sequel lays the groundwork for the time travel shenanigans in “Avengers: Endgame.” But generally speaking, audiences could take in Scott’s size-shifting adventures alongside scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), without needing to be steeped within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is only the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film to earn a Rotten rating. Jonathan Majors shines as Kang the Conqueror, but the film is an overstuffed ...

"Michael Pena's absence should have been a warning," wrote Kristy Puchko in her review of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" for Mashable. "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" held a 53% "rotten" rating from 148 reviews, as of Wednesday afternoon. "The result is an undercooked, overstuffed action movie that feels like a shadow of better pulpy adventure sendups before it." to buckle at the knees," O'Sullivan wrote. "Ultimately, 'Quantumania' does a middling job of both. The film itself is anything but light. There, they face off against Kang, a dimension-hopping tyrant who is trying to escape from the realm after being exiled there for his rampages across time and space. (Majors will also appear as the antagonist in next month's "Creed III." Critics praised Majors' performance in the film, as the actor was able to bring gravitas to the the role and exude the kind of menace that made previous big bad Thanos (Josh Brolin) such a compelling, and threatening, villain. He was introduced in the Disney+ show "Loki." However, Kang's larger-than-life presence overshadowed the quirky and charming narrative that fans have come to expect from Ant-Man side quests, critics say. Peyton Reed's previous Ant-Man installments offered the MCU a smaller-than-life look at what it means to be a hero.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a sci-fi adventure in the mold of Thor: Ragnarok.

The bigger, more general theme is the strength of the little guy, even in the face of overwhelming power. Cassie (Newton) is the heart of the film, Hank (Douglas) does the science and Janet (Pfeiffer) is the plot powerhouse whose worst nightmare catches up to her. Quantumania sets up the future of the MCU, and also manages to pack in some other bigger themes. Still, the number of times characters refuse to divulge crucial information to string out the supposed suspense ("No time to explain!" If Quantumania doesn't quite know what to do with Ant-Man, it really doesn't know what to do with the other title character. Fans have been prepped for the arrival of Kang, who was first seen in the Disney Plus series Loki, and the movie does a fine job introducing the villainous characters to fresh viewers. It's a breezy, bizarro sci-fi adventure in the mold of Thor: Ragnarok, as familiar faces from the Marvel roster drop into an alien realm for fun and fighting before inspiring the locals to rise up and overthrow a hateful dictator. The weirdness of the micro-Mad Max setting gives rise to some entertaining jokes, arresting visuals and one or two mind-bending set pieces. Old enemies come looking for her and her fam, forcing her to face up to what she did during exile. Having rescued Janet van Dyne from the quantum realm in the previous Ant-Man and the Wasp film (and you'd be forgiven for remembering basically nothing about that movie), the Ant-gang is sucked back into the itty-bitty universe layered below the atoms of our full-size world. Kathryn Newton plays the now-teenaged Cassie Lang, Scott's daughter, and in the quantum realm they encounter William Jackson Harper, Katy O'Brian and Bill Murray (yes, that Bill Murray). [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-trailer-plot-cast-release-date/) is in theaters Friday, Feb.

The MCU is kicking off Phase 5 with its latest movie release, but how many post-credits scenes does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have?

As a result, the [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scenes](https://screenrant.com/antman-wasp-quantumania-early-reactions-reveals/) are incredibly important to the story of the franchise going forward. Since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first movie in the MCU's Phase 5, which continues the Multiverse Saga, it's a key release as part of Marvel Studios overarching story. A common number of MCU movie post-credits scenes is two in a movie, but sometimes a film only has one, or in the case of Avengers: Endgame, none.

The loopy humor and style of the first two “Ant-Man” movies have been flattened by the M.C.U.'s franchise formatting.

The feeling of giddy wonder is what distinguishes the first two “Ant-Man” films; they help to restore the brand name of Marvel to a common noun and to a verb, and they do so starting from the top, with a sense of the filmmaker’s own experience—his ardent curiosity, free-ranging inventiveness, and imaginative sympathy. What’s absent is a sense of experience—conveying to viewers the extraordinary and quasi-miraculous aspects of what the characters are undergoing, observing, and doing. The best thing about “Quantumania” is, surprisingly, its script (by Jeff Loveness), which is like saying that the best thing about a building is its blueprint. The occasional spectacular idea—such as the weirdness unleashed when Scott is caught in a “probability storm”—gets submerged in a sludge of imagery that offers little but the concept itself, unmoored from its surroundings, its implications, and, above all, the perspective of the characters. It’s sadly appropriate for the degree zero of superhero-franchise synthetics to have been reached, or asymptotically approximated, in the infinitesimal realm in which “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is set. The scant grounding and bare inner life of the characters give the remarkable actors little to work with. (The MacGuffin is a “multiversal engine core” that Kang needs.) They also encounter the principled underground leader Jentorra (Katy M. The second film in the cycle, “ [Ant-Man and the Wasp](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/ant-man-and-the-wasp-should-have-been-the-godfather-part-ii-of-superhero-movies),” felt tethered—Reed unleashed intermittent flourishes of inspiration, but now they were completely bound by the M.C.U.’s gravitational field, pulled down to the franchise’s established map, and sent forth to do their duty. Its modelling on the “Star Wars” template is made all too explicit by a scene (the liveliest in the film) that’s a parody of the celebrated cantina set piece. (As one of the newly arrived fivesome exclaims, “There’s quantum people in the Quantum Realm.”) It’s not just humans but also a humanoid who can read minds (William Jackson Harper), plus vaguely human-shaped beings with glowing blue heads, others with green floret-topped heads that Hank likens to broccoli, lizardy hybrids, jellyfish-like floaters, gigantic flying stingrays, and buildings that are alive. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who devised the technology with which they shrink down to bug size yet exert colossal force; and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother (and the original Wasp), who was trapped for thirty years in the infinitesimal, subatomic Quantum Realm. Just as the trouble with Bible-thumping is the thumping, not the Bible, the problem with superhero-franchise movies isn’t the source material but the uses to which it’s put.

Gotta admit, but Josh Brolin's big baddie Thanos does cast a big shadow in the older Marvel movies. But now there's Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, ...

The other allure of Kang and Janet? This led Reed, Marvel Boss Kevin Feige and Ant-Man producer Stephen Broussard to turn their attention toward the “Mount Rushmore of Marvel Comics villains, Kang the Conqueror” Reed explains. The catalyst for all that?

But the Quantum Realm, the dangerous realm from where the gang rescued Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), still poses a significant threat, especially after ...

Newton is a smart casting choice and we can only assume Cassie, who has her own superhero suit already, will be a huge part of the MCU in the future. At least Quantumania has one of the best casts in a Marvel film. Visually, the film is messy and flat; the CGI is shockingly poor and the action looks muddled. In Quantumania, by making it a place where laws of physics seem to apply and where several different tribes live, it just feels pretty safe. The Quantum Realm has always been presented to us as a hugely dangerous, abstract space that should be avoided at all costs and that no life could exist there. It officially kickstarts Marvel’s Phase V of films and gives us its next big bad: Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror.

Before you watch Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, check out great movies like The Incredible Shrinking Man and Downsizing.

While it's not a great kid's movie, The Ant Bully makes good on its premise involving a young boy getting shrunken down to the size of an ant. On the topic of Nicolas Cage providing voice work to The Ant Bully, the movie itself has a surprisingly large and noteworthy cast, with it also including Julia Roberts, Bruce Campbell, Meryl Streep, and Paul Giamatti. [An underrated 1980s sci-fi cult classic](https://collider.com/most-underrated-sci-fi-films-of-the-80s/), Innerspace presents a more comedic take on the core story found in Fantastic Voyage. To (hopefully) no one's surprise, The Incredible Shrinking Woman has a similar premise to 1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man. [rare starring role for Rick Moranis](https://collider.com/best-supporting-actors-in-a-lead-role/), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is one of those movies that explains the premise directly from the title alone. This means there are plenty of opportunities for interacting with people of a more normal size, which is where most of the film's entertainment value lies. He's certainly a filmmaker who knows how to make a story about transformation exciting and tense, given his mastery of the body horror genre, perhaps best demonstrated by 1986's [The Fly](https://collider.com/tag/the-fly/). He likely had a different idea of what the movie would be, and that idea didn't line up with the overall direction of the MCU post-Ant-Man. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids therefore ends up being a good sci-fi movie for families, with its iconic title and overall solid filmmaking ensuring its status as a minor 1980s comedy classic. While Ant-Man as a character is usually relied on for providing comic relief, Quantumania looks to shake things up by properly introducing Kang the Conquerer, a variant of whom was seen in [Loki](https://collider.com/tag/loki/), and who will be an important overarching villain in the MCU going forward. The popularity of the Ant-Man movies may be largely thanks to the novelty of seeing characters change size and interact with the world from a new perspective. The grandfather of shrinking people movies, the premise of someone getting shrunk down dramatically doesn't get executed much better than in 1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Marvel's tiniest Avenger works on a much larger scale as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania launches the MCU's next big bad.

[also played by Majors](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/kang-the-conqueror-he-who-remains-different-in-the-mcu/), at the end of the first season of Loki—is complex, quietly malevolent, and imbued with a great sense of frightening power. In the case of the third Ant-Man movie, bigger does mean better, but not without a few growing pains. The Realm itself is a roiling, psychedelic, cosmic playground right out of the best sci-fi pulp magazine covers of the ’50s and ‘60s. Admittedly, it would be hard for someone to walk into Quantumania stone cold, although not impossible (you really only have to see the previous Ant-Man movies and maybe Endgame to truly get the gist). There are some mind-blowing visual set pieces as well, including one involving a multiplying army of Ant-Men that dive deep into the imagery and lore of classic science fiction, while the central drama has already garnered comparisons to the space opera of Star Wars. On the other hand, the first act also introduces us to the wonders of the Quantum Realm. Those themes also find their way into the character dynamics of Scott, Cassie, and the rest of the Ant-Family, with the relationship between father and daughter central to the movie and the source of most of its emotional pull. Thus the build-up to Kang is unnecessarily drawn out, and padded even more by a pointless [Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-best-and-worst-moments-of-mcu-phase-4/) now in the rearview mirror, Marvel Studios has chosen its arguably most peripheral sub-franchise to officially launch its next big supervillain and overarching storyline. It’s exemplified by Lang and what some are already calling the Ant-Family: his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), his partner in crime-fighting and romance, Hope Van Dyne/the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), and the parental figures of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). In fact, it’s Pfeiffer’s Janet who provides the trigger for this story, which makes the elder Wasp one of its true main characters (arguably at the expense of Lilly’s Hope, who is present throughout but does not get a noticeable arc of her own). While the movie gets off to a creaky start and incorporates a few elements that don’t quite land, the heart that has made the previous Ant-Man movies so endearing in their own way is still there.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is almost here. The 31st movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Paul Rudd film is more than just an Ant-Man movie.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has disappointed critics thus far. She is a young genius who has an affinity towards advanced technology. Her exposure to the Quantum Realm gave her certain abilities, including the ability to control energy and to communicate telepathically. We do know for certain that the comics Kang and the film Kang are similar in terms of their powers and abilities. (Photograph:Others) Helmed by the returning director Peyton Reed, the film stars Kathryn Newton in the role of Cassie Lang, Scott Lang's daughter who is an adult now after the five-year gap in which Scott was in the Quantum Realm.

The film is a vehicle to introduce Kang the Conqueror, the bad guy in phase five of the MCU.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror is one of the variants that He Who Remains wanted to stifle out of existence, warning of the mayhem that would ensue if his more belligerent counterparts were allowed to exist. It is from this act that the Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania springs. Despite strong performances by the main cast, particularly from Pfeiffer and Majors, it is the supporting characters that put the breath of life in the show. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania signals the start of the fifth phase of the MCU. Though Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania marks the debut of Kang, we first saw Jonathan Majors take up the character — or, at least, a variant of him — in the series Loki. The film retains some of that awkward, quippy comedy that Paul Rudd is known for, but in making the latest Ant-Man offering more significant to Marvel’s gameplan for the next year, the humour has been pruned to serve the blockbuster engine.

Marvel Studios' Phase Five official kicks off with the big-screen introduction of the Avengers' next arch enemy.

The bigger Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania lands at the box office, the better the future looks for the rest of the MCU through 2023 and into the rest of Marvel’s Phase Five. Last year, the MCU was in the same boat as the rest of Hollywood, watching as theatrical revenue slowly improved and got to far better and profitable levels, but still not yet at pre-pandemic levels. If mainstream public interest is “settling” downward to something more in the $700-900+ million range as the average and $1+ billion reserved for breakout franchises and team-up event films, then it speaks to the sustainability of interest in superhero genre films. So the “inevitability” of Marvel’s box office dominance has been shaken through the pandemic and things still haven’t returned fully to the level of audience embrace seen during Marvel’s pre-pandemic Infinity Saga era. This is the Ant-Man franchise’s attempt to swing for the fences. Internationally, I expect an even bigger result to the tune of at least $150+ million and potentially — albeit unlikely — as high as $200 million across the same four-day period, depending on how hungry for Marvel content audiences are in China.

Marvel films may, of course, be critic-proof because fans of the series will undoubtedly want to watch Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) vs Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan ...

The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). The [Kang Dynasty](/topic/kang-dynasty)is really the title of an Avengers film. Interestingly, a lengthier wait isn't always a result of strong box office performance (which one might expect).

In the last eight years, Marvel has released more than two dozen films and TV series (that's just counting the official MCU titles) and breezed through two ...

[Spider-Man: No Way Home](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/spider-man-no-way-home-2021) and [Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/doctor-strange-in-the-multiverse-of-madness-2022) both deal with the concept of the multiverse, which will come into play a bit in Quantumania. When Sylvie and Loki confront him in the Citadel at the End of Time, he tells them about the other, far more nasty, variants of himself that fought a multiversal war. He may not realize it, but he has Ant-Man to thank for propelling the case with the Tesseract right into his path. Scott is the one who suggests they pull off a time heist, retrieving all of the infinity stones from the past and bringing everyone back. In search of a more permanent solution, Hope, Hank, and Janet build a smaller version of the quantum tunnel and load it into the back of Luis’ van. They help break him out of house arrest anyway (by replacing him with a giant ant) when they suspect that he may be the key to bringing Janet back. Impressed, Hank gives Scott a suit of his own loaded with Pym particles, which can change the distance between atoms, allowing the person wearing the suit to shrink down to the size of an ant (and also grow to the size of a building, but Scott doesn’t know that yet). Without the three of them to bring him out, Scott is trapped in the Quantum Realm indefinitely. Scott winds up in prison again, but this time he’s sent to a high-security floating prison known as the Raft. There’s also a hint that Hope’s mother, Janet, who Hank believed to be lost in the Quantum Realm, may still be alive. The important thing is that the warehouse turns out to be the Avengers compound. Hank has an estranged daughter of his own, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), chairman of the board at Pym Technologies, who was the deciding vote in kicking him out of his own company.

The latest installment in the Marvel franchise never takes flight despite its hard-working cast, led by Paul Rudd and a new villain played by Jonathan ...

It’s there that Hope’s mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), as you’re laboriously reminded, spent many enigmatic years and where, after the some narrative delay, the mysteries of that adventure are revealed. It isn’t pretty; the palette runs toward dun and dull red with slashes of marine blue. Directed by Peyton Reed from Scott Loveness’s barely-there script (the first movies each had multiple writers), “Quantumania” bops along innocuously at first, buoyed by the charm and professionalism of its performers and by your narrative expectations. the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), suit up, flying high and zipping low to save their family and the world amid quips, the usual obstacles and household drama. Three years later, the agreeably buoyant sequel “ [Ant-Man and the Wasp](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/04/movies/ant-man-and-the-wasp-review-marvel-paul-rudd.html)” followed, and was an even greater success. A hash of recycled ideas and schtick, it borrows from Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” the “Star Wars” cycle and Marvel’s own annals and largely serves as a launching pad for a new villain, Kang (Jonathan Majors).

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania has two end-credits scenes, and they are both essential to understand the future of the MCU.

Victor uses Timely town to hide Chronopolis, the city from which Kang the Conqueror can access any point in the timeline and pursue his conquering endeavors. Scarlet Centurion is a version of Kang who wears battle armor to fight his enemies, using technology to defeat the heroes that kicked him out of Ancient Egypt. So, the man on stage could be the same Kang that Scott Lang thinks he killed in the Quantum Realm. In the scene, the trio of Kanga discusses how the Exiled One was killed by an Avenger. The second end credits scene takes us to a science presentation in the early 19th century. The first end credits scene takes us to a place beyond space and time, where three Variants of Kang look at the myriad of timelines before their eyes. The classic Scarlet Centurion uniform wouldn’t translate well to live-action, which gives Marvel Studios a great reason to redesign it. So, Kang uses his genius-level intellect to slow down his aging and use his powers to fight his Conqueror Variant. [Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania](https://collider.com/tag/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania/) has the ambitious task of reigniting fans’ excitement, introducing Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) to the superhero life, and explaining why Kang the Conqueror ( [Jonathan Majors](https://collider.com/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-poster-jonathan-majors/)) was chosen as the main villain of the MCU's Multiversal Saga. In Marvel Comics, once Kang got bored with his life in the future, he traveled to Ancient Egypt, where he used advanced technology to become pharaoh and rule the country’s people with an iron fist. Rama-Tut was eventually dethroned by time-traveling Avengers and other Marvel heroes, leading Kang to more adventures across the timeline where he assumed many different identities. In the end-credits scenes, we also see Immortus, a different Variant of Kang.