Kevin Feige reveals that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a team-up film like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse. The latter, Sam Raimi-directed Marvel Studios movie continued Doctor Strange's arc in the MCU after the Infinity Saga. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness further explored the concept of the multiverse - something that, while integral to the time heist in Avengers: Endgame, was never fully tackled in the Infinity Saga.

Aside from being Doctor Strange's second solo-outing in the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is also dubbed a team-up film, as it features Scarlet Witch. Despite her healing journey on the heels of the events of WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff fully embraced her villainous side, which was motivated by her desperation to reunite with her kids. This pitted her against her fellow magic-wielder, and their matchup brought them to several other realities, including Earth-838, which featured the Illuminati. Admittedly, the film's scope was much bigger than a usual MCU sequel, and as it turns out, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will follow suit in this regard.

Related: Quantumania Is Breaking Ant-Man's Own MCU Tradition

Speaking with MTV News at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Feige explains why there are only two Avengers movies in the Multiverse Saga, and in that conversation, he mentions that films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now function as smaller crossover events. He then adds that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be in the same vein as it kicks off MCU Phase 5. Read his full quote below:

So many of our movies now, the Multiverse of Madness, what you’re about to see in Quantumania, are big team-up films introducing big parts of the mythology and that Avengers films really should be the capper to a saga. Which is really all we wanted to to lay the groundwork for today, is say, ‘We are currently in the midst of the Multiverse saga which will culminate in two Avengers films.’

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From the get-go, Wanda's involvement in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was confirmed. So, there was a clear expectation that, while she wasn't co-headlining the sequel, she would play an integral role. That hasn't been the case for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as it seems like the Peyton Reed-directed film will continue to focus on Scott Lang, the Pyms, and the addition of Kathryn Newton's Cassie Lang. Aside from them, there are no other big MCU heroes confirmed for the threequel - unless Feige is referring to the debut Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, who is MCU's next Thanos-level villain.

Given their crossover nature, fans will wonder if there are any other standalone films that will follow Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's suit in MCU Phases 5 & 6. Based on Feige's comments, they essentially take over the Avengers movies' original franchise function, which was to cap off Phases and move the major storyline forward. Now, blockbusters led by all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are being saved for saga-endings, which means there won't be stories that will simply focus on them as a team. That's disappointing for many, but it's also interesting to see how Marvel Studios will utilize sequels as their smaller crossover events.

More: Wait, We're Getting TWO Avengers Movies In 2025?

Source: MTV News

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