Avengers: Infinity War was obviously a game changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and while Ant-Man and The Wasp dials back the stakes in a big way, there's still a lot here which not only teases what's next for the likes of Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne but also Earth's Mightiest Heroes (who, let's face it, will need help from Ant-Man if they hope to set things right after Thanos' devastating attack).
What you'll find here then is an in-depth breakdown of all the different ways the Marvel Studios sequel sets the stage for the MCU's future, with many of our points specifically relating to 2019's Avengers 4.
Some of these you may have noticed and others will have slipped right past you but they're all worth discussing and exciting in very different ways. So, from time-travel to future villains, and what comes next for these pint-sized heroes, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below...
The Time Vortex
Just as Scott Lang is preparing to travel into the Quantum Realm (where he ends up being stuck after his friends turn to dust thanks to Thanos' snap), Janet Van Dyne warns him not to go anywhere near the Time Vortexes he sees in there to avoid becoming, well, lost in time. However, that might be his only option if he wishes to escape and it would explain those Avengers 4 set photos from a while back.
Personally, I think Scott will travel into the not too distant future where he sees a world ravaged by the Mad Titan's attack and it will be there that he meets a slightly older version of his daughter, Cassie.
Realising it's up to him to set things right, Ant-Man will then travel to the past where he crosses paths with the 2012-era Avengers and they'll then need to work together to set things right. That's one theory anyway but Janet's mention of a Time Vortex is obviously going to pay off in Avengers 4.
A First Look At A Post Infinity War World
While fans have been left understandably disappointed by Ant-Man and The Wasp's after-credits scene, what you may not have realised is that it actually provides a first look at the world in the aftermath of Thanos' attack. The television is playing an error message as broadcasts must be down and the streets are eerily quiet as people clearly try to comprehend what's just happened to them.
Bill Foster And Ghost's Return
At the end of the sequel, Bill Foster makes it clear that he's not going to leave Ava's side and that's the last we see of them both. However, the mid-credits scene reveals that the team are now collecting energy from the Quantum Realm to heal their old foe, something which is bound to lead to the return of both of these characters. The question is, what role will they both end up playing moving forward?
My guess is that Ava is going to use her unique skills to help Ant-Man and company out (reluctantly, no doubt) and Bill and Hank will be forced to put their differences aside as they attempt to figure out what the deal is with Janet's newfound abilities. Regardless, these two joining the franchise as supporting characters is no bad thing and it will be interesting seeing how much time Marvel invests in them.
Janet Van Dyne's Mysterious New Powers
Ant-Man and The Wasp leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions about Janet Van Dyne's time in the Quantum Realm including how she survived for thirty years without going mad and where and what her newfound powers are. Chances are those are going to be further explored in a third movie because she's clearly changed a lot and that's bound to factor into Scott's adventures moving forward.
Perhaps she's hiding something or her link to the Quantum Realm is going to open the door to a new threat; either way, there's no way Janet's powers won't be touched on again because she's clearly more formidable now than ever before and the origins of those abilities are far outside the norm.
Stature
Ant-Man and The Wasp doesn't shy away from dropping some huge hints about Cassie Lang's future and the fact she clearly wants to follow in her father's footsteps by becoming a hero. She's still a little young at this stage, of course, but that will soon change by the time Ant-Man 3 or 4 rolls around and if we are meeting an older version of her in Avengers 4, then it makes sense that Marvel would start teasing her transformation here because we'll actually be seeing it much sooner than expected.
Egghead's Return?
In flashbacks, we learn that Ghost's father was Elihas Starr, a character better known to comic book fans as Egghead. While we see what appears to be his death after his Quantum Realm tech quite literally blows up in his face, it would actually make sense for him to return in a future Ant-Man movie as there's a lot of drama which could be mined from that, especially if he attempts to recruit Ava.
Casting an older Egghead also means that Marvel can find a bigger name actor to take on the role and there are a lot of great choices out there who it would be fun seeing chomp scenery alongside Michael Douglas. Ultimately, Marvel has left the door open to bringing the villain back if they want to and while it's not guaranteed, it would certainly be a pretty interesting option for a third Ant-Man movie.
Sonny Burch's Employer
We've already taken a look at some of the possibilities when it comes to whether or not we'll learn the identity of Sonny Burch's mysterious employer but if Marvel chooses not to have this pay off in some way, it would be a huge blunder. Someone with a lot of money clearly wants to get their hands on Hank Pym's Quantum Realm technology and them being the big bad of the third Ant-Man movie obviously makes a lot of sense as it would tie these two adventures together in a pretty satisfying way.
Inside The Quantum Realm
Since Ant-Man and The Wasp was released last week, I've seen a lot of different theories about Kevin Feige's comments that there are some big hints inside the Quantum Realm about the MCU's future.
Personally, I didn't see any of those but they'll be much easier to find once the sequel hits Blu-ray. Regardless, it's clear that Marvel has barely started scratching the surface of what this alternate reality is and seeing as this movie has already expanded it in some pretty meaningful ways, don't be surprised if Ant-Man's next solo adventure takes us to some unexpected places within the Quantum Realm!
Scott Lang Goes Straight
X-Con is really starting to take off in Ant-Man and The Wasp and seeing as Scott Lang's parole is up in three years (which is probably the same amount of time it will take for an Ant-Man 3 to be released), the hero going straight in the near future seems highly likely, especially as the events of Avengers 4 may bring an end to the Sokovia Accords. That would change his status quo in a big way as he'd go from being a thief to a publicly recognised hero in charge of a company specialising in security!
The same thing happened with his comic book counterpart so this point actually seems highly likely...
The Wasp Joins The Avengers
If there's one thing Ant-Man and The Wasp exists to do, it's establishing Hope Van Dyne as a bona fide superhero. With that in mind - and taking into account the fact she steals the show here - there's a very strong chance we'll see the hero become an Avenger sooner rather than later, especially as she makes it clear that she would have joined Scott on his trip to Germany as part of #TeamCap had he asked.
I can actually see Hope joining the team before Scott and it actually wouldn't be a bad thing to split these two up for a while so they can do their own thing before putting them together again for Ant-Man and Wasp 2. Who knows, perhaps they'll even end up being on two rival teams of Avengers...
How excited are you for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future after watching Ant-Man and The Wasp? As always, let us know your thoughts on that in the comments section down below.