I was lucky enough to get to visit the Atlanta set of Ant-Man and the Wasp back in September. It was a thrill to see Hank Pym's (Michael Douglas) new lab, get a clearer sense of what the characters are up to, and what to expect from the use of the Pym Particle this time around. But then came Avengers: Infinity War, and clearly the events of that movie are a game-changer for every single character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So while we couldn’t ask specifically how Infinity War will impact Ant-Man and the Wasp back in the fall of 2017, executive producer Stephen Broussard did paint a pretty clear picture of where the film fits into the timeline, and specifically how it’s influenced by Captain America: Civil War.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, the last time we saw Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) was in Civil War. He had gotten wrapped up in his adventure with Captain America, and where that film left off, you might recall he was put in a secret underwater prison and the film indicated that he had been broken out at the end. So our film would sort of pick up after that. And the sort of in-between story that we're telling, the backstory that would assume when this movie starts would be that Scott, being a family man, well established in the first film, and sort of feeling like he got in over his head in this adventure during Civil War, basically said, ‘Not for me. No thanks, I don't want to go on this adventure,’ went and sort of plead down a plea bargain out of this misunderstanding he got himself in. And as a part of the terms of that, was basically put under house arrest.”

captain-america-civil-war-team-cap
Image via Marvel Studios

That last bit leads us right into the story for Ant-Man and the Wasp. Here’s what Broussard said about where we’ll find Scott at the very beginning of the film:

“He has an ankle bracelet, he can't leave his apartment, he's living with Luis (Michael Peña) and he's just trying to stay on the straight and narrow for these last few hours and then it's all, he'll be a free man, right? Free to live his life, to be a father to his daughter but of course, you wouldn't have a movie if something didn't come crashing down, and this adventure sort of coming barreling into it … And it just kind of feels like, it started so simple, but then it kind of just goes up and up and up and you have a character trying to race to put it all back in the box before they get caught kind of thing. The circumstances of that house arrest gave us a great framework for that.”

Now what about Hank and Hope (Evangeline Lilly)? As one might expect, they’re affected by the events of Captain America: Civil War, too. In fact, the functionality of Hank’s shrinking lab is a result of the Sokovia Accords!

“And in fact that whole building, because Hank and Hope, part of their backstory in this is that they're on the run as well. Like post Sokovia Accords, someone knocked on their door and was like, ‘You've got to sign this contract, you've got to be under the Accords because you’re currently in violation of this thing we put in place in Captain America: Civil War.’ Hank Pym being Hank Pym, who never wanted Stark to have his technology said, ‘Thanks but no thanks,’ and sort of had to go underground a little bit.”

ant-man-and-the-wasp-evangeline-lilly
Image via Marvel Studios

At one point during our set visit, someone did specifically ask Broussard if the Ant-Man and the Wasp story all happens within a single day and also if it takes place before Infinity War. No surprise, he wouldn’t offer up any specifics but for what it’s worth, here’s what he teased:

“It's a little bit more than one day. But it's kind of influenced by that. It's a finite period of time, you know? Where it falls in the timeline, I kind of don't want to say too much yet because it's - I don't know, just kind of like - I'd rather the movies be sequenced as they come out kind of thing. But we play with that a little bit.”

So there you have it! It certainly sounds like Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place before the events of Infinity War, but there also might be a surprise or two up its sleeve. That’s what we got on Ant-Man and the Wasp’s place in the MCU timeline from the visit, but for the full timeline itself, take a look at our breakdown here. Check out the links below for even more info on the film from our time on the Atlanta set.

ant-man-and-the-wasp-paul-rudd-evangeline-lilly
Image via Marvel Studios
ant-man-and-the-wasp
Image via Marvel Studios

ant-man-and-the-wasp-dolby-poster
Image via Marvel Studios