The next stepping stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Multiverse Saga is knocking at our doors, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania gearing up for its theatrical debut tomorrow. We may be in for a rocky start to Phase Five if early reviews are any indication, but with the promise of an ever-gripping performance from Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and a big step forward in the MCU’s tonal intentions, we’d say it will be worth checking out nevertheless.
It’s a big step forward for the Ant-Man series as well; gone are the days of Scott Lang being the palate-cleanser Avenger with his rambunctious, humor-laden heist films, and in its place is a world where he may be the only thing standing between the MCU’s most dangerous villain yet and a prematurely conquered multiverse. One may almost be forgiven for not realizing that all three were helmed by Peyton Reed.
With the director’s prior experience and love for comic books, getting the call from Marvel back during Ant-Man‘s development was a dream come true. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reed made note of his prior involvement with Fox’s Fantastic Four franchise, remarking how his love for Marvel’s first family loaned itself quite well to the familial conflicts that drive Scott Lang’s adventures.
“Yeah, I developed Fantastic Four for about a year back in 2002, 2003 when I was finishing up Down with Love, and I chased it. It was my favorite comic growing up, and at the time, it was pre-MCU, obviously. But it became apparent at the time that Fox didn’t want to make the same movie I wanted to make. So when I came on board Ant-Man — and now that we’ve had a chance to do a third one — I really funneled a lot of my Fantastic Four love into Ant-Man. I mean, they are both about dysfunctional families who are superheroes.”
He also noted how Quantumania‘s setting of the Quantum Realm allowed for his passion for the Four to flow quite a bit more this time around, and how his non-involvement with the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot will allow him to gleefully enjoy it as a moviegoer.
“My first memory of reading about the Microverse in the comics, which became the Quantum Realm, was a Fantastic Four story where Dr. Doom shrunk the Four down into the Microverse. So I really took that passion and transferred it into this thing. I really look forward to seeing Matt Shakman’s version of Fantastic Four. I think it’ll be a delight to see it on a massive IMAX screen and just enjoy it as a moviegoer.”
We doubt this is a nudge-nudge-wink-wink moment for a possible cameo in Quantumania, but we’re also suckers for speculation, and we’ve already given the possibility quite a bit of attention. Whatever the case may be, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out, so for now it might be best to just switch off the “what if” part of our brains and get ready to go along for the ride.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases to theaters on Feb. 17.