Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead For Ant-Man And The Wasp: QuantumaniaAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may have had a very different ending in its original cut. The film, which sees Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), and their friends and family confront the villainous Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) in the Quantum Realm, ends on a surprisingly positive note, but recent news suggests that this may not have always been the case. While Marvel Studios has been characteristically quiet regarding the original ending of Quantumania, the film's original marketing, coupled with its vast importance to the Multiverse Saga, indicate that it may have been much darker than the eventual ending.
Quantumania kicks off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, offering the most in-depth setup for the culmination of the Multiverse Saga so far. The introduction of Kang the Conqueror forebodes the Phase 6 two-part event, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Despite its vast importance to the franchise's overarching story, Quantumania has received decidedly mixed reviews upon its release. While Kang and his variants have been universally praised, the film's theme and tone have drawn heavy criticism, earning the film lower-than-average reviews for films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Nevertheless, late changes in the film's story may be to blame for Quantumania's strange ending.
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania Ending Problems
The ending of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has some serious problems that have certainly contributed to the film's poor scores from critics. Despite the generally darker tone of the film compared to previous Ant-Man movies, Quantumania ends on a relatively happy note, with the heroes seemingly killing Kang the Conqueror and returning home. No one in Scott Lang's inner circle loses their life, and everyone gathers together to celebrate Cassie's "birthday" party in a surprisingly upbeat final sequence. Scott is shown to have some second thoughts about defeating Kang, worrying that something worse might be on the way, but he manages to put these thoughts aside and carry on.
It seems strange that Quantumania would leave Kang dead at the end of his first appearance, especially when he is set to be the next Avengers-level threat in the MCU. While the Conqueror is almost certainly still alive, it is still an odd choice for Marvel to have Ant-Man and the Wasp, two of the physically weakest Avengers in the franchise, defeat him so easily in their first encounter. Especially when the film was marketed so heavily upon Kang's menacing arrival, leading to subsequent theories that Quantumania would culminate in Scott Lang's death, the ending seems far too upbeat for the first chapter of the MCU's looming Kang Dynasty.
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania Reshoots Explained
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's mixed reviews may stem from the film's reshot ending. In January of 2023, just one month before the film's release, Paul Rudd was spotted onset for Quantumania's reshoots. Two photos of the actor leaked online, showing him carrying a cake box down a San Francisco street. After Quantumania's release, it became clear that this scene took place in the film's ending sequence, as Scott Lang picked up a cake from Baskin Robbins for Cassie's party. Moreover, the strikingly different hair colors and lengths for both Evangeline Lilly and Kathryn Newton's characters seemingly confirm that the final scenes were filmed after the rest of the film.
Although Marvel has always done reshoots for its films and is notorious for making tweaks all the way up until its premiere, it is highly unusual for a film's ending scene to be redone. Furthermore, the fact that reshoots were still underway only a month from Quantumania's premiere is almost unheard of, as most last-minute changes usually don't require entire new scenes to be shot. The changes made to Quantumania were far more extensive than mere touch-ups for CGI or pickup shots for specific actors, as is the case for most other films. In fact, the film's entire ending appears to have been drastically altered at the last minute.
How Quantumania's Ending Possibly Changed In Reshoots
It is possible that Marvel altered Quantumania's ending to set up future MCU projects. In fact, not long before the reshoots began, a reliable plot leak offered a very different ending than the one that audiences eventually saw in theaters. This leak was recently covered in an article by The Direct, which detailed exactly what would have been different in the original ending for Quantumania. If this particular leak is to be believed, Quantumania would have originally had a much darker ending for its principal characters, especially Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Although the dark theories that Scott Lang would die in Quantumania would not have proved true, The Direct reveals that he and Hope would indeed have lost to Kang in the film's original ending. According to the leaked summary of the film, Kang would have proved victorious, escaping the Quantum Realm and leaving Hope and Scott trapped in his stead. Cassie, Hank, and Janet, who all would have escaped prior to Kang, would close out the film with a vow to rescue the stranded heroes. Thus, Quantumania would have ended on a severely darker note, with Kang finally free and two beloved Avengers trapped once more in the Quantum Realm.
Would Quantumania's Ending Be Better If Kang Escaped?
Quantumania would have been much better with its original ending, which would have established the sheer strength and power of the MCU's Kang the Conqueror after effortlessly defeating two Avengers in his very first appearance. Instead, Kang is now coming up as the underdog, which is exactly the opposite of what his character should be in the MCU. If Ant-Man and the Wasp were able to defeat him so easily, audiences have little reason to believe that the Avengers would have any trouble doing the same in The Kang Dynasty. While Jonathan Majors does his part in building up Kang's threat, Quantumania's subpar ending fails to do the same.
Furthermore, Quantumania's mid-credits scene makes less sense with the film's new ending. The exciting scene marks the debut of the Council of Kangs, a group of Kang variants who are responsible for the Conqueror's exile in the Quantum Realm. In the scene, Immortus, Pharoah Rama-Tut, and the Scarlet Centurion fret over Kang's defeat, worrying that the Avengers have become a threat to their mysterious mission. However, given that Kang the Conqueror was in opposition to his variants, it is odd that they would be so concerned at his second defeat. Had Kang escaped in the original ending, their concern would be warranted as they prepared for his mission of revenge.
Overall, Quantumania's original ending would have cost the heroes dearly, as Scott and Hope remained in the Quantum Realm. Scott and Hope's sacrifice would have perfectly mirrored Janet's original storyline while also setting up Kang as a worthy successor to Thanos as the MCU's next big bad. The movie would have had a far heavier impact with a darker ending, signaling to audiences that Kang is a character that should truly be feared, with several heroes laying down their lives to orchestrate his downfall. Nevertheless, Marvel appears to be saving the true terror of the Kang Dynasty for films other than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Key Release Dates
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The Marvels
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Captain America: Brave New World
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Marvel's Thunderbolts
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Blade (2025)
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Deadpool 3
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Marvel's Fantastic Four
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Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Release Date:2026-05-01 -
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date:2027-05-01
