Warning: this article contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Phase Five of the MCU kicks off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the stakes are high as Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, and the rest of their family get sucked into the Quantum Realm and face Kang the Conqueror. Naturally, with new films come new rumors. More specifically, future MCU hero appearances.
Ever since it was announced that The Good Place star William Jackson Harper was cast in an “unnamed” role in the Phase Five film, rumors and speculation emerged that he may be part of the Fantastic Four, despite the fact that its MCU adaptation is still in its very early stages. But could this mean that Ant-Man 3 is preparing fans for Phase Six?
The Fantastic Four in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Marvel Studios announced back in Comic Con 2019 that a new Fantastic Four film was in development, and it was revealed in 2022 that it was going to be part of Phase Six of the MCU. The reason why this fantastic team hasn’t joined the MCU yet is mainly due to 21st Century Fox owning the rights to the superhero team and Disney only acquiring the media company in March 2019.
Unfortunately, despite The Walt Disney Company holding the rights to this superhero team, the confirmation that the Fantastic Four will be entering the MCU, and a small tease in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man, and the Wasp: Quantumania didn’t feature this superhero team. Harper played a mind reader and freedom fighter, Quaz, and the superhero team was nowhere to be seen.
This makes sense since Ant-Man 3 was meant to kick off the Multiverse Saga, more specifically laying the groundwork for Kang’s future invasion. And while it could be cool to see the Fantastic Four team join forces with Ant-Man, Marvel’s executive producer and president Kevin Feige wants to showcase the power of Ant-Man and how he shouldn’t be underestimated as an Avenger. So the fact that the Fantastic Four didn’t pull focus from Ant-Man’s spotlight was probably a good thing.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now showing in theaters.