By George Bate and Josh Reilly B.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theaters this Friday, kicking of Phase 5 of the MCU by concluding the trilogy of Paul Rudd’s bite-sized superhero. After facing off against the likes of Yellowjacket and Ghost in the previous outings, Ant Man looks set to face a much more formidable threat in this new film in the form of Kang the Conqueror. Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, appears to be the center piece of the next two phases of the MCU.
This unique structure that the MCU has allowed the franchise to continue planting the seeds for upcoming storylines and potential plot threads. For example, the Quantum Realm has been mentioned on several occasions in previous stories but is being explored on this level for the first time in Quantumania. Jonathan Major’s Kang made a memorable yet relatively brief appearance in the season one finale of g, thus setting up the character’s appearance in this new movie and his continued presence in future projects.
At the press conference for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which The HoloFiles had the opportunity to attend, Kevin Feige explained the Phase system that helps make all of this interconnected world-building possible at the request of star Michael Douglas.
“From Iron Man to the first Avengers was one phase. Then we would do phases two, Avengers Age of Ultron, and through to Endgame. Endgame ended what we called phase three, and then we started a new saga. We’ve made a lot of films in phase four, the last of which was Wakanda Forever. We introduced a lot of characters in that. And now in this film, in large part to [Peyton Reed], kicks off what we call phase five which begins a more specific storyline heading towards some Avengers films down the line.”
Feige went on to discuss how far ahead he and his team plan for, including a reference to another major MCU landmark, with three phases making up one saga.
“We work in about three phases at a time, yeah. Which three phases together, as we all know, make a saga.”
Make sure to check out The HoloFiles’ spoiler free review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania:
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theaters on February 17.