Analyzing the 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' Trailer and What it Means for the Future of the MCU
With Avengers: Endgame putting us in a place where Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff are dead, Steve Rogers is retired and no longer Captain America and the Guardians of the Galaxy are nearing their end, it's hard to see the plan in place for a new Avengers team. One such scenario could put the true first Avenger at the front of the line to assemble new members. Yes, I'm talking about Paul Rudd's take on Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. Coming off the critical and financial success of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, one constant throughout phase 4 was the theme of loss. Now, we jump into phase 5 in just a little over a month with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which just released its second trailer just a few nights ago, which we'll break down for you right now.
Before we jump into the trailer, let's just highlight the story being set forth with Ant-Man's third solo outing in the MCU. The previews have revealed that Scott's daughter Cassie (played by Kathryn Newton in a re-casting) creates a device that sends a signal to the Quantum Realm where Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) was rescued from in the previous film, Ant-Man and the Wasp. It's then where we see Scott, Cassie, Janet, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) all sucked into the Quantum Realm which is a terrain run by none other than Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
The latest trailer for Quantumania is much darker than the first. Though it opens with snippets of Scott Lang's life as a celebrity post-Endgame, the narration of Kang within the trailer has an eerie tone, especially because it sounds like he is bargaining with Scott to help him with his biggest regret which is the loss of time. In so many aspects, Scott lost time with the love of his life Hope, but even more so, he's lost a lot of time with his daughter Cassie. This is highlighted by the small details such as the photo of Cassie when she calls him is of her as a little girl, the way he remembers her as well as seeing much of himself in her when she's exiting a jail cell.
Though we've seen another variant of Kang before in Disney+'s Loki as He Who Remains, this version of the multiversal villain seems much more calculated, terrifying and violent. Having given further thought to this theory, within the first trailer Kang asks if he's killed Scott before implying that he's killed multiple Avengers within his world before. Given that Kang is known as "the master of time" in the comics, it's accurate that he can give Scott the one thing he's seeking which is to go back in time to live out what he missed while he was stuck in the Quantum Realm, which we see in the post-credit scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Within the preview for the film, we also get a much better look at Chronopolis, or Kang's home base of operations from the comics. The circular or "ring-like" designs within the world sort of resembles the time looping that we have seen start to stem from multiple timelines within Loki. We also get glimpses of Jane pleading to Scott not to trust Kang, first looks at M.O.D.O.K (who is rumored to be played by Yellowjacket himself, Corey Stoll) followed by narration from Kang saying that Scott will bring him what he needs in order to hold up his end of the deal. Having seen that the first two films of the series have acted in the heist genre, it makes sense that Scott would be recruited to go and get whatever it is Kang needs to seemingly escape the Quantum Realm.
There are also words that pop up on the screen in between action set pieces that indicate it's a new dynasty that is forming possibly taking shape towards the fifth Avengers film which will be titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. We also see a reveal where Kang questions Ant-Man on his view that he needed to win in order to get what he wants to which Scott responds, "No, we just both have to lose." With multiple Kang variants existing in multiple timelines, will this mean we see the demise of the beloved character of Ant-Man in Quantumania?
If we see the end of Scott Lang in the MCU, it can help fortify Kang the Conqueror as the next major big bad in future phases and would also make sense with rumors heavily pointing towards many of the original Marvel heroes leaving the costumes behind after the first three phases.
What are your thoughts on the trailer? Do you think Quantumania will mark the end of Paul Rudd's take on Ant-Man? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and social media and check out the trailer below!
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