Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania: Everything we know about Marvel's return to the multiverse

The elevator pitch for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania seems to be: Marvel does Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and we have to admit, we’re here for it.

The first trailer for Marvel Studios’ third film in the Paul Rudd-starring franchise dropped today, and it features Avengers Scott Lang (Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) getting sucked into a mysterious device that deposits them into the Quantum Realm for more multiverse complications as Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ramps up. Returning cast members Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer—as Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, respectively—also get pulled into the action, as does Scott’s daughter, Cassie (played by Big Little Lies’ Kathryn Newton). Our five heroes’ trip to this unexplored corner of the MCU, which officially ushers in The Multiverse Saga, seems to hinge on a worrisome event from Janet’s past, when she was trapped in the Quantum Realm’s infinite universe. Watch the trailer below:

There’s a lot to unpack before Ant-Man 3 hits theaters in 2023, so here’s a quick-ish guide to who’s who, and what you can expect to see, from Quantumania.

The Story: What’s It About

Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, with Scott trying to re-enter his life and adjust to his newfound celebrity-adjacent status after helping defeat Thanos, Scott and Hope’s parents—Hank and Janet—find themselves exploring the farthest reaches of the Quantum Realm, a “secret” universe of sorts that’s home to strange new creatures and Marvel’s newest antagonist: Kang the Conquerer (Jonathan Majors). What Kang wants, and how he seems ready to break the laws of known physics to get it, will force Scott and his family to battle threats that could make the Infinity Saga look like a square dance. WandaVision’s Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) is also expect to return after his stint dealing with the reality-altering Scarlet Witch on Disney+.

The missing Pym particles from the first Ant-Man movie, as well as what happened to Ghost in the second film, are questions Quantumania seems poised to answer. But don’t expect the sequel to draw attention to Cassie’s recasting. (Newton takes over for Emma Fuhrmann, who played the character in an Endgame deleted scene).

Who is the Big Bad?

Majors’ Kang is shaping up to be the Multiverse Saga’s version of Thanos—albeit with even larger and more dangerous ambitions, all designed to upend multiple realities within and across the MCU.

But don’t confuse Majors’ Kang with He Who Remains, the character Majors played in Loki Season One on Disney+. The star of Lovecraft Country and the upcoming Creed III recently confirmed that “He Who Remains is not in Ant-Man. It’s Kang.” But what will be in the threequel is the villain’s iconic green and purple suit from the comics.

Ever since Kang made his first appearance in the pages of Fantastic Four #19 back in 1963, Marvel fans have been eager to see the character in live-action form—along with his unique and dangerous powers. The guy is like a walking Flux Capacitor, capable of time travel seemingly at will.

He also has unique telekinetic abilities underscored by unsettling drive and ambition, which appears to fuel his goal of conquering the multiverse—even if it means killing the Avengers to do it. (It seems Kang has killed variants of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes already; Marvel Studios teased as much at Comic-Con this year, in an exclusive trailer where Kang asks a concerned Scott if the villain had killed him before.)

Who else can you expect to see?

Fans figuratively lost their collective shit upon seeing the popular M.O.D.O.K. in the Quantumania teaser screened at Comic-Con this year. While he was absent from the new trailer, the villain with the supersized noggin’ will appear in the movie.

The big-headed villain, voiced by Patton Oswalt in animated form on his Hulu show, arrives to the MCU with some aesthetic changes to his visage, when compared to his comic book counterpart. But M.O.D.O.K keeps his super-sized noggin’ and iconic head beam. The robotic apparatus that he uses to propel himself also makes an appearance. Here’s hoping the baddie gets more to do than just be a glorified Easter Egg.

Bill Murray also briefly appeared in the trailer, and all we know about his role is that: One, he’s a villain (or at least villain adjacent) and two, he and Janet share a past.

One of the most exciting characters primed to appear in Quantumania isn’t a villain, however, but rather one of Marvel’s newest and youngest heroes: Stature (or Stinger). Marvel fans know Cassie Lang eventually suits up alongside her dad, and Newton has all but confirmed that Stature is in Cassie’s future: “I’m going to do my best to be the best superhero of all time.”

Audiences can find out for themselves how all of this plays out when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens Feb. 17, 2023