Overview
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's phase four is so 2022, and earlier. In 2023, the comic book-based blockbuster screen saga is all about phase five. And, to begin with, it's 100-percent focused on the MCU's tiniest superhero: Ant-Man, as adorably played by Paul Rudd.
Here, entertaining things come in small packages, as the character's two solo big-screen outings have shown. Yes, those past flicks have also wavered between charming and familiar, but whenever the ageless star himself pops up — and wherever, given that he hasn't just been confined to his own franchise within the franchise — he's always proven a treat. So, of course a third Ant-Man movie is on its way, because who doesn't want to give the world more Paul Rudd more often?
The MCU clearly does, and that new film is Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which dropped its first trailer in 2022 and will buzz into cinemas this February. This time, the MCU's insect-sized superheroes — including both Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Rudd, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Hope van Dyne aka The Wasp (Evangeline Lily, Crisis) — are thrust into a secret universe beneath the one they already know and inhabit, and also face a new enemy.
The chaotic space? The quantum realm, hence the Quantumania part of the upcoming movie's title. The adversary? Kang the Conqueror, as played by Lovecraft Country and The Harder They Fall's Jonathan Majors. And yes, both pop up in just-released new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, too, where the story gets dark quickly.
Also part of the movie is the return of Hope's parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer, French Exit) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method), plus Scott's now-older daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton, Freaky). Viewers of 2015's Ant-Man and 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp will know that Janet spent decades stuck in the quantum realm, so it's unsurprising that she's a key part of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. But, she hasn't told her family and friends everything about the place — as the film is set to explore.
When it hits cinemas, the movie doesn't just spark Marvel's fifth phase — it also notches up the MCU's 31st film. Of course, if you're reading this, you know that, and you're ready for the company's latest silver-screen adventure after 2022's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Check out the new Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer below:
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits cinemas Down Under on February 16, 2023.
Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.