As Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe nears its end, a few more TV shows and movies still have to come out. The list includes the third Ant-Man film, which is officially titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The upcoming superhero film is a sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp and is the 31st film in the MCU. It is the MCU’s eighth film release in Phase Four, which comes after the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will explore a new adventure for Ant-Man and the Wasp after they helped save the world from Thanos. The first trailer was screened exclusively at the D23 Expo in September 2022 and features the return of Jimmy Woo and a glimpse at Kang the Conqueror. Here’s everything you need to know about the highly-anticipated film, including the cast, the release date, and more.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released in theaters on February 17, 2023. The film was initially set to come out in 2022, but was delayed along with many Marvel projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It got pushed back to Feb. 17, 2023, and then to July 28, 2023. However, in April 2022, Marvel/Disney returned the film to its February 2023 release date. It comes out after Black Panther 2(November 11, 2022) and before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023) and The Marvels (July 28, 2023).
Peyton Reed is back to direct the third Ant-Man film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer all return. Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. pic.twitter.com/opXw1cmpFj
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
The full cast for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was announced by Marvel in December 2020, as seen in the tweet above.
Bill Murray appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as a villain, though details of his role remain undisclosed. Michael Pena, who played Luis, Scott Lang’s best friend and former criminal liaison in the first two films, is not expected to return for Quantumania. The same goes for Judy Greer, who played Scott’s ex-wife, Maggie, and rapper T.I., who played Dave, a member of Scott’s X-Con Security crew.
Peyton Reed is directing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, just like he did with the first two films. The creative team also includes Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige (producer), Jeff Loveness (screenwriter), and Christopher Beck (music composer). Filming took place in Turkey, England, and San Francisco starting in February 2021 and wrapped that November.
The official plot for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has yet be released by Marvel. The film may explore time traveling since Kang has a big role. In an Oct. 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Evangeline Lilly said she understands her character Hope more after reading the script for Quantumania.
“Hope is an odd enigma for me. But the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before,” Evangeline said. “And I will say that after I read the script of [Quantumania], I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to Peyton [Reed], ‘Oh my God, I think I finally get her.’ So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference.”
The first trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was shown at the D23 Expo. It features Scott having lunch with Jimmy Woo, before the entire Lang family is sucked into the Quantum realm, according to PopVerse. Scott comes face to face with Kang the Conqueror, who claims that he’s killed the superhero before.
Marvel/Disney have yet to confirm if there’s more Ant-Man movies coming out after Quantumania. A fourth Thor movie recently came out, so there’s precedent for a Marvel hero getting more than three movies. Paul Rudd seems to be loving the role, so he’d probably be onboard. The actor is basically aging backwards, after all, so there’s no reason he can’t keep playing Ant-Man for a long time!