Ant-Man and the Wasp: Will Egghead Return in Ant-Man 3?

Ant-Man & The Wasp debuted a classic Ant-Man villain from the comics, Elihas Starr aka. Egghead, who may play a part in the Marvel subfranchise's future stories. Known primarily as an antagonist to Hank Pym's incarnation of the shrinking hero, Elihas is a brilliant government research atomic scientist who was dismissed when he was caught for espionage - a very similar characterization to his established backstory in the MCU, but it turns out that he's also Ghost/Ava's father.

The introduction of Elihas in Ant-Man & The Wasp first garnered attention even before the movie rolled out in theaters. Thanks to the release of the full cast list for Ant-Man & The Wasp days before the movie's theatrical debut, it was revealed that Fringe alum Michael Cerveris was playing Egghead. Of course, at that point his role in the film was still unknown, but now that the sequel is officially in theaters, fans have a better sense of how he fits into Ant-Man's history.

Marvel could've picked any random character (or even made up a new one for the movie) as Ava's father and it would probably have had the same impact, considering that Ant-Man & The Wasp didn't really delve too much into Elihas' history with Hank. So why choose someone who's a known Ant-Man antagonist in the comics and base his appearance in the character in the comics? Chances are that Marvel Studios is planning to explore more of Elihas story in the future - perhaps in Ant-Man 3.

Egghead standing behing Hank Pym in Marvel Comics.

According to Ava, her father tried rebuilding his name after his reputation was tarnished by Hank firing him from SHIELD. Obviously, there's a lot to unpack in that specific time, especially since there's a discord between Hank's and Ava's story - specifically, Hank's reveal that he fired Elihas for stealing his ideas. Marvel can delve into the unexplored parts of Hank and Janet's early days studying the Quantum Realm, including their fallout with Elihas, which likewise would allow them to establish whether he's really a bad guy or just a victim of bad circumstance. Considering that Ava seemed to be in good terms with the Pyms by the end of Ant-Man & The Wasp, it appears that Hank was telling the truth. Still, it would be intriguing to know what kind of shenanigans Elihas was up to. Perhaps after he was terminated from his post at S.H.I.E.L.D., he actually turned pure evil and assumed the persona of Egghead, just like in the comics.

If Marvel Studios is more interested in the future of the Pyms, there's also a way to incorporate Elihas Starr in their story: by making him the surprise villain for Ant-Man 3. Aside from Ghost, Ant-Man 2 also featured another villain, Walton Goggins' black market dealer, Sonny Burch. However, most of the time, he felt out of place, as if there's more to his story than being a straightforward goon. He kept talking about his clients who are interested in the Quantum technology that the Pyms have, but it was never revealed who he was dealing with. Obviously, he could be working for any generic corporate bad guy, but considering the history of Elihas trying to steal Hank's work, it makes a lot of sense if he's revealed to be Burch's buyer.

Now, Ava did say that both her parents have died during one of her father's lab mishap, but of course, Marvel Studios can easily whip an explanation to this plot twist. Perhaps Elihas may have faked his death (not uncommon in the MCU) and since the has been operating underground as Egghead. Should this be the case, Ant-Man 3 can continue tackling the running theme of the father-daughter relationship with Ghost and Elihas - which is not only different compared to Scott and Cassie's, and Hank and Hope's, but also far more complex now that Ava has come over to the good guys' side.