The trailer for Marvel’s third Ant-Man film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has finally arrived, and it’s far more glorious than anyone might have expected. Set to the tune of Elton John‘s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the two-minute teaser takes fans on a wild journey through Scott Lang’s post-Avengers: Endgame life. Now a bona fide celebrity, Paul Rudd‘s shrinkable mischief maker is in the midst of figuring out his next steps. Unfortunately, things fly off the rails when his daughter, Kathryn Newton‘s Cassie Lang, crafts a machine that can send signals to the Quantum Realm, resulting in a brand-new, no-holds-barred adventure that sucks the entire Ant-Family into a wacky new world.
Despite its minimal runtime, the Quantumania trailer still manages to be chock-full of buzz-worthy moments and jaw-dropping visuals. Anticipation for the film has never been higher, and the first teaser proves why the hype is justified. However, no matter how breathtaking the large majority of the footage turned out to be, there were some moments that stood above the rest. Murphy’s Multiverse has identified those highlights and broken them down for the pleasure of readers everywhere. So, without further ado, the top five moments from Quantumania’s first sneak peek:
5 – “Thank you, Spider-Man!”
One of the most interesting aspects of every Marvel Cinematic Universe film is seeing how previous entries are impacting the current lives of heroes and the people around them. Based on the opening of the trailer, it would appear Quantumania will continue to explore society in a post-Blip world. Before he and his family are pulled into another dimension, viewers get to see Scott Lang reflecting on his newfound personal life and the way he’s treated now that he’s helped save half the universe. It’s an adorable, funny few seconds of pure humanity in an otherwise wonky teaser, and exactly the kind of thing one would hope to see from an Ant-Man project. In particular, bringing I Think You Should Leave‘s Ruben Rabasa in for a perfectly delivered, “Thank you, Spider-Man!“, is a great way to assure audiences this is still the same lovable-loser franchise they’re accustomed to seeing.
4 – Are Those The Micronauts?
Perhaps the most delightful surprise from the Quantumania trailer was just how gorgeous the Quantum Realm looks in full. Several wide, stupendously dazzling shots are sure to keep the casual viewer’s attention, but it’s the inhabitants of the infinitesimal world that are likely to sound alarms for die-hard fans. In Marvel comics lore, the Micronauts are a team of heroes who exist in the Microverse, effectively acting as the Avengers of their microscopic “Homeworld”. Several behind-the-scenes licensing issues have forced Marvel Studios to call their version of the Microverse something else, “the Quantum Realm”, and prevented them from using the Micronauts in live-action. However, the lifeforms present in Quantumania‘s trailer certainly look a lot like the Micronauts, or seem to at least be inspired by them.
The unexpected appearance of Micronaut-like beings in the trailer opens the door to a whole new – *AHEM* – realm of possibilities, and promises Quantumania won’t hold back from its weirdest attributes. Even if this is an original group of characters, without even an inkling of Micronaut inspiration, it’s still exciting to know audiences will get to experience another fresh perspective on the MCU in a manner only an Ant-Man film could provide.
3 – You Have Michelle Pfieffer, Use Her
Three words to sum up the Quantumania trailer: Janet Van Dyne. For fans of the original Ant-Man and the Wasp comic books, perhaps the biggest let-down of the film adaptations has been the absolute lack of agency for Michelle Pfieffer‘s classic superhero. Janet has always been a huge part of Marvel’s legacy, playing an active role in most of the universe’s biggest events as, maybe, the most underrated Avenger. The first two Ant-Man films opted to fill the Wasp role with Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope Van Dyne, and put Jan on the backburner as a woman lost to space and time. Even with a talented Hollywood legend like Pfieffer cast in the role for the second film, the elder Van Dyne has not really had much to do since she was formally introduced to the MCU in 2018.
Luckily for fans of the character, the Quantumania trailer seems to put Jan front and center as the brains of the film’s plot. Hopefully, this means she’ll finally get some justice on the big screen, and those unfamiliar with the first Wasp will get an idea as to why she’s so beloved. Let’s just pray her promotion from side character to leading hero isn’t hinting at a tragic demise before the credits roll.
2 – Mama’s Got a Brand New Suit
Speaking of the Wasp, it looks like someone is coming equipped with their best look yet. Although a little nitpicky, one of the most talked-about elements of Hope Van Dyne’s character in the MCU has been her suit. The comics have typically featured the Wasp in bright yellow attire, a la her namesake, or red outfits designed to match her partner, Ant-Man. Fans have already seen the latter come to life in live-action, but the Quantumania trailer is the first time they’ve seen either version of the hero don their most iconic, comic-accurate colors. Previous appearances by the Wasp have seen her wearing a suit the costume designers described as being a mix of gold and silver, and while that was a cool departure at first, it didn’t sit well with the comic book faithful after a few too many years.
On top of the Wasp suit reveal, audiences also got their first look at Kathryn Newton‘s Cassie Lang in her very first superhero costume. The design and color scheme are much closer to her “Stinger” identity in the comics than they are her initial codename, “Stature”, which makes sense when one considers the MCU might want to stick to the insect theme they have going on in the Ant-Man franchise.
1 – Lo, There Shall Come a Conqueror
What else was going to take the top spot? One of the things on everybody’s mind before the Quantumania trailer dropped was when Marvel might give the first look at Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror. After a standout performance as “He Who Remains” in last year’s Loki, Majors solidified himself as the most hotly-anticipated villain in the MCU’s upcoming repertoire. The Quantumania teaser did not disappoint, giving fans a solid peak at Kang in all his comic-accurate glory. All Majors had to do was utter a single line of dialogue, and social media lit up like a fanboy candle. The MCU better beware, because if this footage is any indication, it’s in for another terrifying challenge once Kang comes to conquer.
