Ever since Ant-Man and the Wasp hit theaters and became a modest box office success, a third movie in the pint-sized superhero’s MCU solo franchise has been on the cards. But it’s been a year and a half since that movie came out, and Marvel hasn’t given a release date to a threequel. There are rumors that a third Ant-Man film will begin shooting next year for a possible 2022 release, but as of yet, Marvel hasn’t confirmed anything.
It could be argued that we don’t really need a third Ant-Man movie, but it could also be argued that there are still plenty of places for the story to go. So, here are 5 Reasons Why Ant-Man’s MCU Arc Should End (And 5 Possibilities For Future Stories).
Why his arc should end: He got a happy ending
Scott Lang already got the perfect happy ending to his character arc in Avengers: Endgame. In the first Ant-Man movie, Scott was released from prison with no prospects, and his ex-wife was reluctant to let him spend time with his daughter.
Over the course of his MCU arc, he’s become a superhero, made peace with his ex, and done right by Cassie. He has also developed a romance with Hope van Dyne and a mentor-mentee relationship with Hank Pym. After Scott helped to save everyone that Thanos snapped away in Endgame, he celebrated with Hope and Cassie. His story is complete. He’s in a good place.
Possibility for future storyline: Cassie Lang becomes Stature
Thanks to the time jump in Avengers: Endgame, Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie is a teenager now. She’s no longer the little girl from the first two Ant-Man movies. Cassie has always supported her dad’s life as a superhero, so she clearly has the spirit required to be an Avenger.
In a couple of years, when a potential Ant-Man threequel would go into production, Cassie will be old enough to take on her own superhero mantle from the comics: Stature. Kevin Feige has already hinted that the five-year time jump aging Cassie could be setting her up for a spot on the Young Avengers.
Why his arc should end: He’ll never top his accomplishments in Endgame
Having been absent from Avengers: Infinity War, due to being under house arrest following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man played a huge role in Avengers: Endgame. After emerging from the Quantum Realm to find that five years had passed and Thanos had wiped out half of all life in the universe, Scott Lang came up with the idea for the “Time Heist.”
He didn’t have the knowhow to actually figure out how to travel through time and space, but if he hadn’t had the notion to use the Quantum Realm to bring everybody back, the world of the MCU would still be a miserable, underpopulated place. Ant-Man’s arc should probably end there because he’ll never top that act of heroism.
Possibility for future storyline: Visiting the bubbled city in the Quantum Realm
The Quantum Realm sequences in Ant-Man and the Wasp were filled with Easter eggs that hinted at future movies. One of the things that eagle-eyed viewers spotted in the subatomic plane was an entire city located in a bubble, somehow, inside the Quantum Realm. In the third Ant-Man movie, the characters could visit this city.
After Hank Pym successfully navigated the Quantum Realm and saved Janet from there in Ant-Man and the Wasp – not to mention the invention of Tony Stark’s “Time-Space GPS” that allows computer-guided navigation “between the atoms” – this could be a fun next step in the characters’ adventures.
Why his arc should end: His solo franchise is arguably the least popular
As with all of Marvel’s movies, Ant-Man’s two solo outings have been successful at the box office. The first one made $519 million worldwide, while the second one made $622 million, and these are not insignificant numbers. But it’s still considered low by the MCU’s stratospheric standards. Fans’ excitement over new movies centered around characters like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and the Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely palpable.
Any new information that Marvel reveals about their next solo outings becomes hotly discussed news. But when it comes to discussions of a potential third Ant-Man movie, Marvel fans appear to have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. If Marvel makes an Ant-Man 3, most fans will go and see it, but if they don’t, most fans won’t be too shaken up about it.
Possibility for future storyline: It’s revealed that Norman Osborn hired Sonny Burch
One of the main criticisms levied at Ant-Man and the Wasp was that its villains were undercooked. And this was mainly because there were two of them. With Ghost and Sonny Burch both separately trying to steal Hank Pym’s technology, neither of them got a chance to really develop as characters.
But it did leave behind one interesting story nugget: Burch was hired by somebody with a lot of money who wanted to control the Quantum Realm. Maybe he was hired by a wealthy industrialist who’s something of a scientist himself: Norman Osborn. Ant-Man 3 could introduce Osborn as the MCU’s next Thanos-sized villain (if Sony will allow it).
Why his arc should end: The MCU is moving away from Earth
Whereas the first chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has been dubbed “the Infinity Saga,” was based primarily on Earth (as the story of how Earth’s mightiest heroes came together to save the universe from Thanos’ wrath), the franchise’s future seems to be moving away from such a familiar environment.
Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy are taking the story into the farthest reaches of space, Doctor Strange is busting open the multiverse (and possibly the fabric of reality), and Thor and Jane Foster could be exploring the Nine Realms. Ant-Man is an Earth-bound character. Besides being able to navigate the Quantum Realm, he can’t bring much to the table on a cosmic or metaphysical scale.
Possibility for future storyline: A team-up with the Fantastic Four
Following Disney’s recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the Fantastic Four will be joining the MCU before too long, and one way to integrate Marvel’s first family into the franchise could be a team-up with Ant-Man and his supporting cast. Ant-Man director Peyton Reed once pitched a Fantastic Four movie, long before the MCU, and it wasn’t greenlit.
If he’s still interested in the characters, he could include them in an Ant-Man movie. Reed Richards bickering with fellow genius Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Johnny Storm bonding over being the resident morons – a team-up with the Ant-Man characters and the Fantastic Four characters could be a lot of fun.
Why his arc should end: Plenty of other Marvel characters deserve solo movies
Ant-Man has had two solo movies while characters who deserve their own movie, like Valkyrie, Nebula, and even the Hulk – let alone all the characters who haven’t made the leap from comic book pages to the big screen yet – haven’t had any.
Marvel Studios only releases three movies a year. This total is getting bumped up to four in 2021, but with an ever-expanding cast of characters, the number of characters whose standalone stories are being told is still seriously limited. After two movies starring Ant-Man, it might be time to cast him aside to make room for characters who haven’t been given a chance to shine yet.
Possibility for future storyline: Scott and Hope set up the West Coast Avengers
With the MCU expanding its scale and its roster of characters even more in Phase Four, there could be a handful of Avengers teams populating this world in a few years’ time. Kate Bishop and Ms. Marvel could lead the Young Avengers, some of the MCU’s forgotten villains could form the Dark Avengers etc.
With their setup in San Francisco, and the mainline Avengers operating out of upstate New York (and even then, they’ve disbanded – for now), Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne could set up the West Coast Avengers. In the comics, this team has included everyone from Scarlet Witch to Moon Knight.