The trailer for Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), the first film in Phase Five, shows how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has progressed since the original Ant-Man film. Scott Lang is a changed man, having gone from convicted felon and Baskin-Robbins employee to rookie superhero and now a member of the Avengers. This weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center, Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Jonathan Majors were on stage at the D23 Expo to tease us about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Rudd said that the film is “bananas” and quite different from the prior two.
As an added bonus, he mentioned how Jonathan Majors’ Kang completely changes the tone of the film. In light of this, Marvel presented an exclusive trailer for Quantumania to the D23 attendees. Scott, Hope (Lilly), and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) are all shown riding shotguns at the beginning of the trailer. When Hope switches on the radio, Scott’s audiobook about the time theft and how a mistake transformed him into an infant begins to play instead.
Scott has been reading his own book, Look Out For the Little Guy, and Hope and Cassie are quite right to make fun of him for it. Scott, though, has changed his ways. Now he fights alongside the Avengers. We are well aware that Ant-Man has had an unusually large cultural influence within the MCU. As seen in Rogers the Musical, Ant-Man was likely present in New York City during the Battle of New York. Some of the perks of his newfound popularity include being named Baskin-Robbins’ Employee of the Century, as well as the occasional fan who mistakes him for Spider-Man. Scott’s parole officer from the earlier movie, played by Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo, is seen having coffee with him in one scene.
The situation at home isn’t perfect, though, despite all of this. Scott and Hope are shown posting bail for their friend Cassie, who has been arrested for reasons that remain unclear. The same as her dad, right? However, Cassie appears to get along well with the Pym-Van Dyne clan. She considers Hank (Michael Douglas) and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) her parents and seems to share their enthusiasm for exploring the Quantum World. During those five years, she learned all she could about the Quantum Realm and developed a device that can both send and receive signals from that dimension. Janet is just as awestruck as the rest of her family.
This is a conversation in both directions, right? But by the time she yells at Cassie to turn it off, it’s already too late. The whole family, including Scott, Cassie, Hope, Janet, and Hank, are pulled into the Quantum Realm after the gadget is activated by something on the other side. There we are introduced to Bill Murray’s character, who appears to have a soft spot for Janet (much to Hank’s dismay), and we are also treated to a glimpse of the vastness and beauty of the realm. It’s exciting to discover something new, yet something sinister is at work here. There was a quick transition to a conversation between Kang (Majors) and Scott. Kang, dressed in black, enters the picture while Scott and Cassie are being held in different cells. Although Scott’s claim that he is an Avenger piques Kang’s attention, it does nothing to frighten him. While Scott is baffled by Kang’s claim to recognise him, we learn via Loki and the He Who Remains Character that Kang has been in touch with all alternate realities of himself.
So, in some parallel universe, Kang is responsible for Scott’s death. However, he has no plans to murder him just yet. I hear he’s in town to recruit Scott as a burglar. One of his possessions has been taken, and he demands its return. However, Scott has zero interest in aiding Kang, and the mission at hand is no easy theft. Kang retaliates by slamming Scott into the wall after grabbing him by the throat. Despite the briefness of the action, it is abundantly evident that Kang is a dangerous adversary. Perhaps our heroes should be concerned if this is only the beginning of their involvement in the MCU. On February 17, 2023, cinemas will debut Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.