Now that Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theatres, we have to talk about its impact on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly what’s revealed in the credits scenes.
After saving Janet and curing Ava, AKA the Ghost, the mid-credits scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp sees Scott go into the Quantum Realm via the brand new, smaller Quantum tunnel designed by Hank Pym and Hope and Janet Van Dyne.
He’s in there to get Quantum particles to continue to battle Ava’s affliction when, out of nowhere, Hank, Hope and Janet all disappear into puffs of dust, stranding Scott in the Quantum Realm.
Yes, Thanos snapped and killed half the universe at the exact moment Scott Lang was in the Quantum Realm, and now the entire Van Dyne/Pym family is gone.
It’s quite the downer moment after the happy ending of the movie and it leaves us with a ton of questions. How is Scott going to get out of the Quantum Realm? Will the particles in there be able to help battle Thanos? And, most obviously, how, or will, Hope, Hank and Janet come back?
One thing we can answer now is why Ant-Man and the Wasp weren’t helping in Avengers: Infinity War. Not only did they have their own stuff to handle, but it feels like because the primary battle on Earth was in the reclusive nation of Wakanda, it wasn’t worldwide news.
It then became worldwide news in the movie’s post-credit scene where, for the first time, we got a small glimpse of the carnage Thanos wrought with a simple snap: Manic news coverage, abandoned cars, a lot of honking, screaming, and a creepy confusion weighing down on it all. That and an ant playing the drums.
The timing of Ant-Man and the Wasp is not an accident, of course. It was long designed to be the only film released between Infinity War and Avengers 4 that takes place in the same time period. (Captain Marvel, out in March, is set in the ’90s).
That gives everything that happens in the film a little more significance; the fact Hank and Janet have created this new, mobile tunnel into the Quantum Realm, that Scott is stuck there, and the introduction of the new particle all feel like they could be important in the next battle against Thanos.
But how will this tie into Avengers 4? The smart money has to do with Doctor Strange.
The potential link between Strange’s alternate dimensions and Ant-Man’s Quantum Realm is one fans and creatives at Marvel have acknowledged for years. In Infinity War, Strange had a vision of the one way the Avengers could beat Thanos. Ant-Man’s whereabouts at the time of the snap makes the two heroes’ loose connection feel even more crucial.
Maybe the Quantum Realm is where the snap sent people? Or maybe the particles can bring people back into phase, like they do for Ava? We don’t know, but it’s damn fun to speculate.