To kick off phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel released its 31st film and the third installment in the Ant-Man franchise, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. After 2015's Ant-Man and 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, the audience sees Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) get transported to the Quantum Realm where they must stop the imperialist desires of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) as Kang attempts to escape the realm and wreak havoc on the multiverse, serving as a formal introduction to Kang in the MCU after an alternate version of himself appeared in Loki.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sets itself up as being one of the more consequential films to the larger MCU. Not only does it take the characters outside the usual setting of San Francisco to explore the Quantum Realm, but it also provides a showcase for the new MCU big bad for the next two phases of the MCU. While the 2015 and 2018 films were fun side adventures that existed without the complete tether of the MCU, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had a significant purpose of setting up what was going to come for the MCU in the next coming years, but that came with a price. It became bogged down with having to be a large-scale feature that was largely devoid of the fun hijacks from the past two films. By having Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania consequential for future films, it sacrificed something that made the Ant-Man films special.
The Previous 'Ant-Man' Films Were Standalone Fun
The first two films in the Ant-Man franchise were a pair of low-stakes action-adventure heist films that didn't feature world-ending, universe-shattering ramifications. The 2015 film was just a simple story of a formerly incarcerated man who becomes part of a heist to prevent tech from getting into the wrong hands. Likewise in the sequel, the core of the story was that of a rescue mission. No one had to worry about Thanos (Josh Brolin) showing up to retrieve stones or a swarm of Chitauri destroying San Francisco. The conflict and obstacles in those films were contained and confined to a smaller arena than something like The Avengers.
The characters in the Ant-Man films exist in a certain bubble, so to speak, insulated from the other films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the first film has connections to the larger world with Hank having worked with S.H.I.E.L.D, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) showing up for a cameo, and even Scott telling Hank, "I think our first movie should be calling the Avengers," the rest of the film is its own story largely untethered by the other films within the MCU umbrella. The viewers get sprinkles of the MCU references, but it doesn't distract or detract from the film's story.
The same could be said with Ant-Man and the Wasp, which had more residuals of the MCU events. Now Scott is under house arrest after being involved in the fight at the airport in Captain America: Civil War and the post-credit scene has him being stuck in the Quantum Realm after Hope, Hank, and Janet are turned to dust due to Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War. But besides that, the plot is still largely without those chains and could be viewed without prior knowledge of what happened in other films. The characters are still trying to connect to the Quantum Realm to get Janet and are still running from black market crooks. It's still an easy-breezy film.
The 'Ant-Man' Films Were Palate Cleansers
In addition to being smaller, more fun stories, The Ant-Man films also worked as palate cleansers and a nice breather from the rest of the MCU. Ant-Man was released right after the near-apocalyptic events of the Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man and the Wasp was the film put out after half the MCU was dusted away from Avengers: Infinity War. The beauty of the MCU is in its interconnectedness and that comes with the larger universe grappling with things that have shaken it to its core. Oftentimes, the weight is shared not just by the heroes, but also by the viewers who witness these events, especially when they are invested in the world and the characters. The Ant-Man films gave a reprieve to the viewer to have a chance to catch their breath.
WIth something like an AI going rogue and attempting to kill the entire human race in Age of Ultron, a nice film about man who shrinks was relaxing. With something like The Blip where viewers watch the heroes turn to dust before their eyes and the shot of Peter Parker slowly fading away in Iron Man's arms in a heartbreaking scene, Ant-Man and the Wasp was the best movie to follow it in the lead-up to the resolution of Endgame. It was a fun side adventure divorced from Endgame that allowed for some fun in the MCU.
Ant-Man Was Still an Important Part of the Universe
Kevin Feige said, in an Empire interview, the reason for starting Phase Five with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was to give Ant-Man a more important role in the MCU: "We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he’d earned that position," Feige said. “To not simply be the back-up or the comic relief, but to take his position at the front of the podium of the MCU.” However, with that, it comes off as saying that he already didn't have an important place within the MCU.
While the past two films were more insulated from the other films, Ant-Man has become part of the Avengers' stories in between his own films. His skirmish with Falcon in the first film was integral to him getting recruited by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in the rift caused by the Sokovia Accord in Civil War. And more importantly, he was the key to bringing everyone dusted away back from The Blip by using his knowledge of the Quantum Realm to have everyone return, as well as provide the Pym Particles needed to get the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame. While Ant-Man isn't the marquee name in the same vein as Iron Man or Black Panther, he nevertheless has held important and significant moments in the MCU. He was already a vital part of the MCU without his films being the focus of the MCU.
While Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania takes risks with the characters and places them in a new environment and setting, it does it in sacrifice of the core of the previous two films. Placing Ant-Man front and center within the larger infrastructure of the MCU took away his important role as a place for the viewer to get a break.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently playing in theaters.