Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is fast approaching, and last night saw the release of a new trailer for Peyton Reed's threequel. Phase 5's opening chapter will clearly be an important part of the Multiverse Saga, and our first time meeting the MCU's new big bad, Kang the Conqueror.
Typically, the Ant-Man movies have been used as a palette cleanser after big Avengers movies, but the stakes here are perhaps even bigger than the last time Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled.
This latest sneak peek takes us into the Quantum Realm, offering a better idea of what to expect from the Ant-Man Family's next adventure as they find themselves facing their biggest threat to date. From key story reveals to major hints about Kang's mission, we're zeroing in on all the biggest reveals (including some intriguing nods to the comic books and wider MCU).
To take a look through our breakdown, simply click on the "Next" button down below!
7. More Time
Scott Lang and Kang appear to have a shared goal in the movie, and that is to find more time. In Ant-Man's case, he missed five years of his daughter's life while trapped in the Quantum Realm. His little girl is now a young woman, and that's time he can never get back...or is it?
Clearly trapped in the Quantum Realm - likely due to a past interaction with Janet Van Dyne based on how familiar she appears to be with the villain - Kang wants out, and it seems like Scott is the perfect person to assist him.
We're not sure what he needs or wants more time for, but it no doubt has something to do with his quest to conquer every reality. Janet makes it clear Kang has an almost God-like control over time and reality, and we can't help but think Kang won't make good on his promises to give Scott back what he lost, presumably by dropping him into a new timeline.
6. Kang's Comic Accurate Blue Face
In the comic books, Kang has typically been portrayed with blue skin, but that was never going to look great in live-action. In this trailer, we learn Kang's comic-accurate appearance is achieved through the use of a mask that presumably protects him.
However, the scars on his face, which typically just make up part of his regular appearance on the page, are definitely interesting. Will we get a backstory for them here? If Kang did indeed cross paths with the original Wasp inside the Quantum Realm, then she could be responsible for leaving a lasting mark on the time-travelling bad guy.
Either way, between this and the costume, Marvel Studios definitely isn't shying away from embracing the source material with Kang the Conqueror's MCU debut.
5. Chronopolis
In the comic books, Chronopolis is Kang the Conqueror's time-spanning stronghold. Located on the outskirts of Limbo, which is timeless, it exists simultaneously there and in reality.
The city serves as an access point to all the time eras that Kang had managed to conquer or is in the process of conquering, and this trailer offers a closer look at it. Given its pyramid-like appearance, we have to believe that's a nod to his days as Rama-Tut, while those rings now bare an undeniable resemblance to Shang-Chi's Ten Rings.
Bruce Banner told Shang-Chi that there was a beacon within them calling out to something, and that may well be Kang. If he creates artefacts that he scatters throughout reality, it may be a way for him to find his way back to those worlds or something along those lines.
4. Variants Or Something Else?
One element of the trailer we are struggling to explain is what the deal is with all those Ant-Men. At one point, Scott Lang is basically split in two and comes face-to-face with himself.
Then, we see a Giant-Man fall apart and into ribbons in a not-dissimilar style to what became of Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (all while surrounded by countless versions of Ant-Man). At the end of the trailer, Scott even finds himself buried beneath other Ant-Men, but are these Variants or something else altogether?
We don't think Kang has pulled hundreds, if not thousands, of Scotts into the Quantum Realm, so this is likely him toying with reality in order to screw with the hero's mind. If he can do this, then he's clearly infinitely more powerful than even the wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet.
3. Yellowjacket Returns...As M.O.D.O.K.
Marvel Studios' worst-kept secret is finally confirmed in this new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, as we learn M.O.D.O.K. is, in fact, Corey Stoll's Darren Cross/Yellowjacket.
Being sent into the Quantum Realm obliterated his body in Ant-Man, he was clearly left with no other choice than to become a Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing. That transformation is probably courtesy of Kang, and when the villain dons his mask later in the trailer, we see what kind of firepower he's packing.
Given Cross' ego, and what we saw from him as Yellowjacket, don't be surprised if he may be playing along with the Conqueror until he can make a move and perhaps return to the MCU.
2. Kang's Army
Throughout the course of this trailer, we see that Kang's army is made up of armoured humanoids whose faces are concealed beneath opaque, Mysterio-style helmets. Every MCU big bad needs a canon-fodder army for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to fight their way through, so this lot is likely akin to Ultron's drones and the Chitauri!
However, we think what's beneath the mask will be a big reveal at some point in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
They could be refugees from the worlds that Kang has conquered, or perhaps even Variants of the villain's enemies (them all being Scott Langs might be a little too on the nose). If we were going to hazard a guess, they're countless, weaker Kang Variants this iteration has managed to subjugate.
1. "We Both Just Have To Lose"
Clearly, Scott doesn't deliver what Kang hoped for, and this fight drives home just how outmatched Ant-Man is. While the MCU's new big bad certainly appears to have been put through the wringer, we'd guess that's solely down to him being weakened while in the Quantum Realm.
During this confrontation, Ant-Man is beaten in a fight that looks set to be among the MCU's most violent, but what he says to Kang seems particularly telling.
In order to defeat the villain, they both have to lose. Given the importance of time in this trailer, that must mean if Scott gives up regaining those lost years with his daughter, Cassie, then the Conqueror won't be able to get what he wants either. This sneak peek feels very spoiler-y, but chances are there's much more to this movie than meets the eye...