Ant-Man is an underrated MCU superhero, at the forefront of some of the franchise’s biggest moments, but seemingly none are more significant than his experiences with the Quantum Realm. Scott Lang is a lovable superhero played by the affable Paul Rudd, surrounded by an excellent supporting cast as he undergoes crazy sci-fi adventures. But now Ant-Man is on his biggest adventure yet, joined by a team representing 3 generations of heroes. But for MCU newcomers or those wanting to know key plot points for the movie, you’ll want to know what to view before you watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the Watch Order for Prerequisite Movies
Much like many MCU films, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be best understood by first watching earlier films in the universe before seeing the latest film. While you can reasonably drop in without having watched anything and pick up some of the context, the film will be counting on you to know quite a bit about the universe, particularly after the events of the movies and shows listed below:
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Loki Season 1 (2021)
4 of the 5 entries above focus on how Ant-Man has contributed directly to many of the most crucial events of the MCU. His original film is important for anybody unfamiliar with his character, abilities, or motivations. Civil War shows his first outing with the Avengers, albeit a fractured version of them, and shows Scott quickly thinking of new applications abilities. Ant-Man and the Wasp explores the Quantum Realm in greater detail, leaving Scott suspended there in the end. He escapes only to find a world ravaged by the events leading to Endgame, but the secrets he discovers help contribute to saving the universe.
But Loki introduces Kang the Conqueror, or at least his variant, ‘He Who Remains’ who attempted to contain his other timeline selves, in vain. After the events of the show, however, this attempt failed, resulting in a deadly, Avengers-level threat who is ambitious to the point of wishing to conquer entire timelines or the multiverse. Is Ant-Man enough to stop this threat? Will he survive the clash? How will this play into The Kang Dynasty and later Avengers films? For now, all we can do is wait and speculate, and watch the listed films above before seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases on February 17, 2023, in theaters everywhere.
