We’re about a month away from the premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Marvel dropped the final promo trailer for the movie earlier this week as it prepares for the film’s press tour. And now, Marvel insider already claims Quantumania will be the best movie of the year. That’s an exciting affirmation when looking at Marvel’s 2023 MCU schedule.
Quantumania being the best MCU movie of the year is a claim that might surprise some people. But if you’ve been paying attention to all the Ant-Man 3 leaks and Marvel’s teasers surrounding the sequel, you might agree even before preordering tickets.
Before we explain, you should know that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania spoilers might follow.
What Marvel MCU movies are coming out in 2023?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will probably not seem like the most exciting movie of 2023 on paper. We have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 coming out on May 5th and The Marvels on July 28th.
Guardians 3 is easily one of the most anticipated MCU Phase 5 movies, a project that has plenty of hype of its own, especially when it comes to one tragic event.
Then, The Marvels will reportedly give us our first look at a spectacular live-action incursion as the three Marvels meet and work together to fix it.
But what’s special about Quantumania is the movie’s villain. We have seen a mostly good version of Kang (Jonathan Majors) in the MCU during Loki. He Who Remains was very dangerous himself, even though he lost his mind after protecting the Sacred Timeline for so long.
Why Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is so important
The Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is different. He’s an actual villain, one who has been stuck in the Quantum Realm for a long time. Speaking about time, Kang has control of it, and he’ll destroy timelines if he escapes.
This Kang is as close as it gets to being the Multiverse Saga variant of Thanos (Josh Brolin). It could be this Kang variant who fights the Avengers in Kang Dynasty, which implies he’ll sort of win in Quantumania.
Not to mention that Quantumania will give Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) a chance to prove himself against a much bigger and more powerful villain than he’s ever had to face by himself. Well, he’s not alone, with Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Cassie (Kathryn Newton), Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hank (Michael Douglas) there to help. But this isn’t the Avengers, nor are they prepared to fight such a villain.
Marvel has already teased the importance of this particular confrontation. And the trailers show that Ant-Man will be thrown into the fight unprepared. The foe he’ll meet will be well above his pay grade. But Kang, as mighty and resourceful as he might be, lacks one power. He can’t escape the Quantum Realm without Scott.
Also, there’s the fact that we’re looking at the third installment in the Ant-Man franchise. And Kevin Feige already explained that trilogy endings are essential for Marvel, with the studio giving these films higher stakes than previous installments.
Add to that the excitement of exploring the Quantum Realm for the first time, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania looks like a movie you can’t miss.
Will Quantumania be the best MCU movie of the year?
Charles Murphy of Murphy’s Multiverse said on Twitter that Ant-Man 3 will be the best MCU movie of 2023. He said this a few days ago, before the final trailer came out. He was reacting to questions about Quantumania being “too short” at 125 minutes.
He elaborated on that claim later, highlighting the talent behind the film. He mentioned Jeff Loveness’s script and singled out Jonathan Majors and Kathryn Newton for their roles as Kang and Cassie, respectively.
But this is all speculation. Murphy hasn’t seen the movie, and we’re several weeks ahead of the red carpet premiere. But he does have sources who are in a position to know these things.
The increasing chatter about Ant-Man 3 is undoubtedly interesting. And speculation aside, the MCU needs a few big hits from Phase 5, given there’s a lot not to like about Phase 4.
