Opening on February 17th, 2023, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be the first movie of the MCU’s Phase 5. It’s also the third Ant-Man movie, which means it might also be one of the most exciting entires in the series. We know that Kang (Jonathan Majors) shows up as the main antagonist in the movie. And we’ve already learned some tidbits about the story from the Comic-Con Quantumania trailer. There’s at least one Quantumania plot leak floating around as well.
But if you’ve seen Ant-Man 3 trending recently, it’s because the D23 Expo trailer might have leaked on social media. And that gave fans reason to worry about Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). Before we explain this potential Ant-Man 3 spoiler, you should know that big spoilers follow below.
Marvel’s secret sauce for the end of trilogies
MCU fans might be quick to dismiss Quantumania, considering the lighter tone of the previous movies. But let’s not forget that Lang turned out to be the critical weapon the Avengers had against Thanos. And it’s not because of that theory that went viral during Endgame, explaining how Ant-Man might have killed the Titan.
Lang was the guy who figured out that time travel might work, setting in motion a chain of events that led to the Avengers beating Thanos. And Ant-Man is now a big superhero in the universe, considering what we saw in Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel.
But the real reason why Ant-Man 3 will be more exciting than the previous installments has to do with the nature of this sequel. We’re looking at the third part of the franchise. And Kevin Feige told the world recently that Marvel wants to make the most of the end of trilogies.
He explained in a recent interview about Deadpool 3 that Marvel likes to take big swings with part threes. “How do we elevate it in the way we’ve been able to with Civil War, and Infinity War, and Ragnarok?” Feige said. “It’s very fun to be in the world of the Ryan Reynolds show.”
Quantumania is also a part three type of MCU movie. So the stakes will definitely be higher.
Finally, there’s the Kang factor. Ant-Man 3 is a building block for Avengers 5, which is titled The Kang Dynasty.
The D23 Expo Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer
MCU movies with higher stakes always run the risk of delivering emotional events. And that can include the death of a superhero or a significant character. With Quantumania, Marvel fans are already wondering whether Ant-Man will survive the ordeal he’s about to face.
It started with a screenshot from the D23 Expo Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer. We’re looking at a badly beaten, heartbroken Scott Lang in his Ant-Man suit:
On the one hand, this is one rare Paul Rudd image where the actor doesn’t look like he’s still in his 20s or 30s. He’s clearly suffered some sort of traumatic beating. Reports detailing the D23 Expo trailer say the clip differs from the one Marvel showed at Comic-Con.
The new trailer explains that Kang needs something from this specific Ant-Man variant. And he’s holding his daughter hostage to force Lang’s hand.
What the trailers will never reveal is whether Ant-Man will die in Quantumania. And we have no way of knowing right now what will happen to the superhero. There is one big plot leak out there, but it does not mention Lang’s death.
But the trailers that Marvel showed reveal that Kang has certainly killed Avengers in his multi-dimensional wars. And that implies he has no problem killing Ant-Man and those closest to him. The quote in the tweet above comes from the Comic-Con trailer.
With that in mind, you should be cautiously optimistic about Ant-Man’s future in the MCU. It doesn’t feel like Ant-Man’s death would serve the greater MCU story here. But we’re only speculating.
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