Editors Note: This article contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could have taken a whole different story path, as Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) apparently had a son in the early stages of the project. In a post published on Lucas Grant's official Instagram account, the young Five Night at Freddy's star has shared some curious set photos and explained how his part was cut from the threequel.
In the original post, we see Grant shooting some scenes with Lilly and a second child. The three actors are wearing civilian clothes in the middle of a blue room that would be eventually filled with some CGI magic. By the looks of it, Hope would have had two children at some point in Quantumania, representing a drastic change in the story we watched in theaters. Grant's mother confirms in the post that "he played Wasp/Hope’s son," although there's no mention of the second child, or who the father might be.
There are many ways the inclusion of Hope's son could have played out. Hope and Scott could have started Quantumania split apart, with the Wasp moving on to form a new family. Or maybe Hope and Scott were supposed to remain trapped in the Quantum Realm after sacrificing their freedom to ensure Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) wouldn't escape. If that were the original intention of the script, then the couple could have had children while trying to build a life for themselves in the Microverse. That would justify the blue room, as everything in the Quantum Realm is generated with computers. It would also explain why Hope has long hair in the images.
Or maybe the answer is more straightforward. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Hope and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) as they explore the Quantum Realm and fight Kang the Conqueror, a time-traveling villain who wants to bend the timeline to his will. So, to convince the heroes to lay down their weapons, Kang could have shown them a timeline where they were always together, raising Cassie and their new children together. That would be a hard-to-refuse idea that could have increased the emotional stakes of Quantumania. I guess we'll only know for sure if Marvel Studios decides to release the footage that didn't make the final cut.
Who Is Part of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's Final Cut?
While exploring the Quantum Realm, the titular heroes get the help of original Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Microverse expert Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), which means the whole family will be involved in the fight against Kang. The movie will also turn Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) into the heroine Stature, Scott’s possible replacement in the MCU.
Newton is not the only actor to make her MCU debut with Quantumania, as the threequel also stars Bill Murray as Lord Krylar, the governor of Axia, one of the kingdoms in the Quantum Realm. The movie also features a group of Freedom Fighters that stand against Kang, whose members include William Jackson Harper and Katy O'Brian. Finally, Quantumania marks the first appearance of MODOK (Corey Stoll), the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, a fan-favorite comic book villain who’s essentially a giant floating head.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first movie in the MCU’s Phase 5. After helming the two first Ant-Man movies, Peyton Reed is directing Quantumania from a script by Jeff Loveness (Rick and Morty).
Check out Grant's original Instagram post here, as well as some highlights below.
