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Pre-release Theories
Yellowjacket is alive.
He was reported to be returning in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania; this might foreshadow his survival.- Confirmed, we do see Darren Cross in the second trailer. However, this time, he's become M.O.D.O.K. of all characters.
Possible Variants
With Kang returning as the Big Bad of the film, as well as a possible mention on the Avengers, there are a few possibilities on what kind of Variants will appear in the film.- Rama-Tut, bonus points if he mentions fighting a Moon Knight.
- Scarlet Centurion, who, as a foe of the Squadron Supreme, will be the door to a universe-wide Expy of the DC Extended Universe.
- Iron Lad, the one heroic Variant who is looking to assemble a certain superhero team.
- Confirmed, we see a multitude of Kang variants (including Rama-Tut)...and Loki, in the stinger.
Kang isn't bluffing.
In the version of the trailer seen at SDCC 2022, Kang states in response to Scott saying he's an Avenger with, "You're an Avenger? Have I killed you before?" Now what better way to actually have him back up this claim and show he's worthy of being Thanos's successor than a glimpse of his trophy room
◊?- Confirmed, Kang mentions he has fought and killed Avengers before, as he is a Multiversal Conqueror.
We'll get to see one or more Variants of Kang throughout the film, probably as Easter eggs with the exception of two
- One of them will be Iron Lad, since it's all but confirmed that the Young Avengers are coming at some point with how many members have been appearing since Phase Four began. The other one will be whoever Bill Murray is playing.
- Confirmed, albeit they're only discussed before appearing in the stinger.
- Jossed (for now). No connection was made between Kang's tech, the rings and the bangles.
Hank and/or Janet will be Killed Off for Real
- Kang will show Scott and Hope that he means business by disposing of one of Hope’s parents, or they will perish in a Heroic Sacrifice if Kang attacks either of the heroes and Hank or Janet take the killing shot.
- Hank could be the obvious choice after Ant-Man and the Wasp reference that he has cardiovascular problems. Kang may try to leverage Hank's health with Scott, which would explain the line of "needing more time".
- Jossed.
The film will introduce the Micronauts into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
It would only introduce the Micronaut characters, albeit under "the Microns", that are owned by Marvel Comics. The roster would be composed of Arcturus Rann, Marionette, Bug, Flare, and Quark.- Jossed.
Other characters who may appear
The Micronauts aren’t Marvel’s only subatomic characters. Both the Psycho Man from the Fantastic Four and Jarella from the Hulk also hail from microscopic worlds. Perhaps one of them might appear, at least as a cameo? The Kang in this movie is not "the" Kang
It seems odd they would introduce a big bad villain in an Ant-Man movie. This Kang is a variant being manipulated by the actual Kang. Our Kang is a chessmaster who is hiding in the shadows watching his variants from a far away place, studying his enemies' moves and weaknesses. The real deal won't show up until the next Avengers film.- Confirmed. It's revealed there is an Alliance of Alternates of Kangs and this variant, "The Exiled", got exiled to the Quantum Realm.
MODOK will appear.
According to rumours, MODOK is going to appear and work for Kang the Conqueror.- Confirmed. He shows up briefly in the second trailer, indicating that he will appear.
Casting choices for MODOK.
- Corey Stoll, if the rumors are true.
- Confirmed, we see him unmasked for a brief moment in the second trailer and his face is indeed that of Stoll.
- Jim Carrey
- Patton Oswalt
- Alan Tudyk
- Rainn Wilson
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be connected to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
- Implied heavily with the 2nd Trailer, which teases the beginning of a "New Dynasty"
- Confirmed, the Kangs are even the Stinger.
Yellowjacket will be MODOK.
Yellowjacket is rumored to be MODOK in the MCU, making Yellowjacket a Composite Character of MODOK. The explanation for that would be that after Darren Cross was trapped in the Quantum Realm, he would suffer a mutation as a side effect of his Yellowjacket suit being damaged by Scott in the first movie, Cross would end up with a huge head permanently. Later he would be found by Kang in the Quantum Realm, he would build Cross an armor to survive in the Quantum Realm, where Cross would be renamed MODOK by Kang and Cross as MODOK would work for Kang, hoping that the conqueror would help him escape from the Quantum Realm.- Seemingly Confirmed, however...
Alternatively, MODOK is NOT Yellowjacket, but a separate character who just happens to be played by Corey Stoll.
Much like Gemma Chan playing Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel (2019) and then Sersi in Eternals, MODOK will be an entirely separate character from Yellowjacket, and will retain his traditional real name (George Tartleton) from the comics. This does not preclude MODOK being a Variant of Yellowjacket, though.- It could even be a sign of Significant Double Casting, with the recasting being a metaphorical take to the story.
- And to add fuel to the fire, David Dastmalchian will be playing a different character in this installment (Veb) than Kurt.
- Jossed, it is indeed Darren Cross.
Casting choices about the character played by Bill Murray.
- Early unconfirmed reports have indicated he'll be playing Krylar, a very minor villain from the comics.
- Confirmed.
Kang is not the Big Bad.
The trailer suggests that Kang, or the Kang variant, is attempting to help Ant-Man for whatever reason. Rather than actively working against him in this movie, Kang will get Ant-Man to make a Deal with the Devil to set him free and stop the immediate Big Bad, allowing him to serve as a real antagonist in a future movie.- Jossed, albeit he mentions something worse would come if he didn't break free.
Janet has a connection with Kang
Given that we barely have even heard of what she has done over her time in the quantum realm, it is likely that she has encountered and knew Kang throughout her quantum realm adventures.- The second trailer has Janet explain to Scott about who Kang is, so it's likely she came to know about Kang during her stay in the Quantum Realm.
- Confirmed. Jonathan Majors confirmed that Janet met Kang during her stay in the Quantum Realm.
There will be jokes regarding the character played by Bill Murray, which would lead to Celebrity Paradox.
Depending on whether or not this is confirmed, some of the characters could joke and say that the character played by Bill Murray looks a lot like Bill Murray himself, if they mention movies such as Ghostbusters.- Jossed.
Bill Murray plays an aged Yellowjacket.
Time moves different in the Quantum Realm, which would facilitate Yellowjacket’s return under a new actor.- Jossed, Bill Murray's character is completely separate from Yellowjacket.
The African American child that Scott high fives is Miles Morales.
If not confirmed now, they could say it is later through retcon like with Peter in Iron Man 2. Janet was held prisoner by the sub-atomic government, when she was stuck in the Quantum Realm.
Hence why she wants the tracker destroyed.- Jossed... given the sub-atomic government (more like The Empire) is led by Kang, she lived with him on her own accord and left when discovering he was so bloodthirsty.
Scott will have an existential crisis.
Namely that his idea to use the Quantum Realm to save half the universe was not his own, but all part of a script He Who Remains, a Kang Variant, devised and that in fact every good thing he's ever done he wasn't really made of his own free will.- Jossed - even if Kang mentions how he's trying to control the timeline, and Scott is going through a crisis of sorts.
The Quantum Virus will be alluded to in this movie.
As a way of establishing the events of What If are indeed related to the Multiverse Saga as a whole. Bonus points if we see Scott's severed head as a variant.- Jossed.
Ravonna Renslayer will appear in the film.
Her last appearance had her disappearing during the events of Loki to try and find who created the TVA. Seeing as though Season 2 of that show will be released after this film, it may be a way of bridging the gap between these two installments outside of Kang himself.- Jossed, but Loki and Morbius appear.
Kathryn Newton is portraying an alternate timeline Cassie Lang, with the corresponding characters being variants.
- Considering they already changed actresses from Abby Ryder Fortson as a child to Emma Fuhrmann as a teenager, it's strange Marvel recasted again when they already had someone to play an older Cassie. There's only a slight age discrepancy between Fuhrmann and Newton at best, and it would be hard for some viewers to just blindly accept the casting change compared to the MCU's early days. Since the film is already exploring the concept of alternate selves with Kang as one of He Who Remains, it's possible that Newton might play a variant of Cassie from another timeline. Similar to how different actors played multiple Loki variants in Loki, Newton's Cassie will be distinct from Fuhrmann's (who'll still be the one in the Sacred Timeline). In the same vein, the Scott, Hope, Hank, and Janet that we see in the trailer aren't the "main" versions of those characters, but their variants.
- Jossed, it is indeed the Earth-199999 Cassie, although it's never clear how much time has passed since Endgame.
Emma Fuhrmann will return to play the Cassie Lang in the "main" timeline.
Going from the above: if Newton's Cassie is a variant from an alternate timeline, then there's a possibility Fuhrmann will return to play the "main" Cassie.- Jossed. See above theory.
The Tardigrades will reappear.
Kang is the reason why Janet is acting so flustered and panicky in the trailer.
The part where Janet yells at Cassie to turn off the signal is because she has already met the conqueror. She is afraid of the device getting his attention.- Confirmed.
Hank and Janet will be teased for not appearing in Avengers: Endgame.
Since Ant-Man and the Wasp had a Running Gag of Hank and Hope complaining about Scott running off to Germany to help Captain America, it would be a funny role reversal to see Hope and Scott joke about how Hank and Janet didn't show up to fight Thanos.- Jossed.
It'll be revealed that X-Cons went out of business during the Snap.
The Wombats are confirmed to not be appearing in this film, so they'll be explained away by Scott offhandedly mentioning that their business collapsed and they all went their separate ways to survive on their own.- Jossed, they don't even get a cursory mention.
William Jackson Harper will be Mister Fantastic in the MCU.
According to rumors and leaks, actor William Jackson Harper is said to be Mister Fantastic in this third Ant-Man movie. It would also make sense for us to see Reed Richards, since in the comics, Kang the Conqueror is part of Mister Fantastic's offspring in the future, even though his ancestor sought the good of the world, Kang seeks to conquer of the world. It would make sense for Reed Richards to be African-American in the MCU, since Kang got a Race Lift by casting African-American actor Jonathan Majors to play him.- Jossed, he's playing a character named Quaz.
Kang the Conqueror's true name will be revealed.
In the Loki series, the full name of He Who Remains (Kang's good variant) was never revealed, and he was only known by his nickname. It would be interesting if Kang the Conqueror's real name is finally revealed to be Nathaniel Richards.- Jossed, he only goes by Kang and "The Conqueror".
The movie will end with Ant-Man, the Wasp and Company in the wrong time period.
As referenced before in the MCU, time in the Quantum realm does not run linear with real world time. When the heroes return from the Quantum Realm, they get sent to either the past or future. This could set up a time travel aspect for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and/or Avengers: Secret Wars.- Another possiblility, is that the characters skip a two year gap while in the quantum realm and return to size during the events of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. This will set up Phase 5 & 6 as a How We Got Here, foreshadowing the future Avengers line-up and how Kang launched his attack on Earth.
- Jossed... but The Stinger features Loki and Morbius finding Kang in the past.
Theories over Kang offering "more time" to Scott
- Hank or Janet are terminally ill and Kang tries to barter with Scott, by offering a chance for Pym or Van Dyne to live a longer life.
- The now teenage Cassie will be heading out of state for college, despite Scott missing 5 years of Cassie's life due to the events of Infinty War. Thus, Scott needing more time with Cassie.
- This theory could hold some weight as the Teaser uses the song "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". One of the lyrics of the song is "You know you can't hold me forever", which could reference that Scott has to figuratively "let go" of Cassie, as she's no longer a kid.
- Partially Confirmed in the 2nd Trailer. Scott is lamenting over missing 5 years of Cassie's life.
- The trailer also shows Cassie being released from a jail cell. Scott could very well blame himself for not being there to steer her away from this path due to his five-year absence and view himself as responsible for ruining her future.
- While the Cassie scene does appear, in the movie, Kang initially made a similar offer to Janet, when she was initially stuck in the Quantum Realm.
Janet is from a different timeline
The Quantum Realm exists between all universes, so it stands to reason there could have been multiple Janets trapped there. The one who escaped comes from a different timeline and has kept the secret that she's not quite who she seems out of shame.- Jossed.
Kate Bishop will appear in The Stinger to talk to Cassie about the Young Avengers Initiative.
With the rumor of Hailee Steinfeld having a cameo in the film, this may be the first step toward assembling a Young Avengers team. Given that she's been working as a superhero alongside one of the original Avengers, it would make sense for Kate to be the one to spearhead the new team.- Cassie goes to College, and Kate Bishop is her dormmate.
- And if that happens, they'll also be joined by the likes of Billy & Tommy, Elijah Bradley, America Chavez, Ms Marvel, and possibly even the Power Pack.
- Jossed.
Other characters that may debut here
- Sarah Silverman as Scientist Supreme - maybe the main reason Cassie suddenly knows quantum tech is because of her scholarship or internship with AIM. This would tie in with the debut of MODOK.
- Jossed.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man will appear in the Stinger, just so somebody can call him "Ant-Man"
So the earlier joke can be flipped around.- Jossed.
Michael Peña will return as Luis and be retconned into a Composite Character based on past Marvel lore.
Despite not appearing in the trailer, Luis will still make an appearance in the film. In addition, much like Rhodey, Sam, and Pepper, Luis will be upgraded to an superhero. To better fit into Marvel lore (as Luis was an Original MCU Character), an established comic book hero will be repurposed for Luis.- Possibly Jossed. Peña's name was not billed on the film's poster. And he has been absent in the first 2 Trailers.
- And indeed he's absent.
MODOK will escape from the Quantum Realm.
Probably during the end of the movie, Darren Cross now known as MODOK I managed to escape from the Quantum Realm and return to the human world, then he would reactivate the old organization of A.I.M. as his new leader and boss. And we'll probably see MODOK back in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or in Avengers: Secret Wars.- Jossed in a Redemption Equals Death case.
There will be an in-universe explanation for the change in Cassie's actor from Emma Fuhrmann to Kathyrn Newton.
It'll be revealed that the change will be more connected to the current Myth Arc than we would realize. Perhaps there might be some connection to the Avengers' time-traveling mission or Loki's misadventures in the TVA.- Jossed.
How Darren Cross ended up like that
If one rewatches the scene where Scott damages his Yellowjacket suit to make him shrink rapidly, you can see that the shrinking was very uneven and distorts his body (you can hear flesh squelching and bones cracking). Thus, he ended up with a head that was way bigger than the rest of his body, and maybe some other anatomical problems not visible.- Confirmed, he's found in a terrible state and Kang rebuilds him into MODOK.
Kang is in the Quantum Realm in the first place because he took shelter there after the first Multiversal War.
The Realm exists outside normal time and space. It would probably serve as the perfect place for him to hide from the TVA, and he could likely survive their elimination of his own timeline. Now that he's detected the timeline beginning to splinter again, it's time for him to make his move — he just has to find his way out first.- Confirmed, he was exiled there (with an implication the other Kangs did so).
Natasha Romanoff will be brought back via an alternate version of herself from 2012 being abducted from her time and displaced to the present day.
Most likely in The Stinger as a result of this film's climax and/or the events of Season 2 of Loki (2021). Also, bonus points if she wakes up in the ruins of the Avengers compound.- Jossed.
At some point during the film, Darren Cross will try to kill Cassie Lang.
After all, he did want Cassie to "pay for her daddy's mistakes" back in the first film, and given how much Scott loves her, killing his daughter would be the best way to get revenge for turning into MODOK. Plus, with Cassie implied to become a superheroine herself during the film's events, a MODOK vs. Stature fight would be a really epic subplot that ties into the first Ant-Man film.- Confirmed.
The Quantum Realm is actually a Composite Location of the Microverse and the Negative Zone
The film will actually kill off the main "616" versions of Scott and/or Hope, but the character(s) will live on via multiverse variants.
Much similar to the deaths of Loki and Gamora, Quantumania will actually kill off either or even both "Prime Versions" of Scott and Hope. This is to reinforce again, that Anyone Can Die in the MCU. But to keep Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in the MCU, any character that perishes, will be replaced with a parallel variant of said character.- Jossed.
Cassie will wind up traveling/being sent to another universe
While fighting in the Quantum Realm, Cassie will somehow go into another universe, either by accident or design, which will fulfill much the same part in Scott's arc that her death in The Children's Crusade did.However, Cassie will end up having her own adventures in the Multiverse, meeting variants of Tommy and Billy Maximoff, Eli Bradley, and eventually the "Prime" America Chavez, who will bring them back in time for The Kang Dynasty to form the Young Avengers.
- They will also somehow run into the Kid Loki variant and (reluctantly) offer him a spot on the team as well. They might also run into a younger version of Kang, who goes by his real name Nathanial Richards who becomes Iron Lad.
- Jossed.
Kang somehow manipulated Cassie into creating the quantum signal device in the first place
All so he could find a way to get leverage over Scott and ultimately escape the Quantum Realm.- Jossed.
Quasar will debut in this film, with William Jackson Harper playing him or a variant.
Harper is set to play a character named "Quaz" in the film, which could be a sly reference to Quasar. In addition, Quasars powers and his Quantum bands would fit perfectly into the Quantum realm and could even lead into the plot of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.- This could also tie into The Eternals somehow, since in the comics the bands' original user, Robert Grayson a.k.a. Marvel Boy, was raised among them
- Seemingly Jossed. Quaz's attire does not resembles Quasar. And he doesn't use similar powers as Quasar (Quaz is psychic, which is a capability that Quasar doesn't have.)
Kang had a past abusive romantic relationship with Janet
The film will reveal that Janet had initially gave up trying to leave the Quantum Realm. And became romantically involved with Kang, who emotionally took advantage of Janet. This explains why she is haunted by Kang.- Jossed, it's a friendship\working relationship that only turned sour when she discovered who Kang really was. However, Janet did romantic relationship with Krylar).
Kang is responsible for avoiding an outbreak of the Quantum Virus in the Sacred Timeline.
The true divergence of the 'What If...? Zombies?!' timeline is that Kang never was exiled to the Quantum Realm (which would of course be the case given the butterfly effect from a zombie apocalypse). Kang, in the Sacred Timeline, made sure to eliminate the Quantum Virus so that it could not threaten him or his followers. His absence in the Zombies timeline allowed the virus to fester until Janet was trapped there and infected by it. So in a sense, we owe Kang a thank you.
The movie will set up Season 2 of Loki
Since Kang is currently a threat now that he is the founder of the TVA, it is likely the it will set up Season 2 of Loki.- Confirmed
Post-release Theories
Darren was actually a variant
He came from a universe where he and Scott Lang knew each other in the past; but everything else still went down exactly the same. Hence why he said Scott was like a brother to him. Janet's vision of Kang's conquering is actually a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
If you look closely at the visions she sees upon touching his machine, you can see that his battles are actually moments from later in the film (the most obvious would be one that plays just a few minutes later when she blows up his power source). Darren Cross/MODOK will be given posthumous honorary Avenger status.
Before performing his Redemption Equals Death Heroic Sacrifice, Darren says at least he'll get to go out an Avenger. With Scott just going with it. However, when the Avengers inevitably re-assemble in Kang Dynasty Scott will make mention of Darren's sacrifice. Sure it didn't stick but he had no way of knowing that. Plus while Darren wasn't (at the time) an Avenger, Scott is. I would think helping to stop Kang originally would at least put him under consideration. Maybe after Kang is defeated once and for all, Darren will be given honorary Avenger status to honor his sacrifice.
The "guy with the hammer" that Kang mentions isn't Thor.
When Kang mentions this person, Scott presumes that this is Thor. However, Kang never confirms this. This could be a potential Red Herring for later in the MCU. Instead, Kang may of fought either Beta Ray Bill or even "Boastful Loki" in a future battle (due to Kang's timeline being non-linear). The downside to this theory is that Kang implied he killed this individual.- Considering the infinite possibilities of the multiverse, these figures could have taken Thor's place when the Avengers assembled.
Future Sequel Theories
The "guy with the hammer" is foreshadowing that Ant Man or a variant Ant Man will wield Mjolnir in a future movie.
An alternative guess to that line. This might be foreshadowing to a moment in a future work that Kang will show up in. A new MODOK will appear in the MCU.
Despite the fact that Darren Cross/MODOK died after doing a Heel–Face Turn, there is a possibility that a new MODOK will appear in the MCU, it even opens the possibility that we will see George Tarleton himself in the future of the MCU becoming the new MODOK. The movie was originally going to have a Downer Ending akin to Infinity War.
Prior to Quantumania's release, it was said that the Kang, who is a variant, was the main Kang and would be the villain of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.Originally, the planned ending was going to be considerably different. Instead of Kang shrinking and merging with his energy core, he was going to take advantage of Hope coming back for Scott and escape the Quantum Realm to Earth. Scott and Hope were going to be stranded, only hoping that Hank, Janet and Cassie would find a way to get them out, and terrified that Kang was free.
- Partially Confirmed. Script Writer, Jeff Loveness, revealed that the film nearly ended with Scott and Hope stuck in the Quantum Realm. He nixed it, as the ending would have been too similar to the previous installment's ending.
Krylar survived.
We don't explicitly see him get eaten, after all, and Bill Murray is way too big to use on a character who only shows up for a few minutes. He could return as a toady for the next Kang to come along. Rama-Tut will be the villain of the Fantastic Four's inaugural MCU film.
Quantumania went to the trouble of introducing the Rama-Tut and Centurion variants, so they'll surely have some individual moments to shine outside the council. An MCU Doctor Doom would probably take a while to properly set up, and the MCU FF film is the last film before The Kang Dynasty so having Rama-Tut as the villain would be a good lead in. Kang didn't die
And he'll come back as the Beyonder. Getting sucked into a highly advanced energy core could provide a Technobabble handwave.- Or alternatively, he'll be resurrected by the Council of Kangs to lead them into battle against the heroes.
Scott will findout about the Kang Council
Because of how Scott brushes it off of any Kangs coming after them despite knowing they are likely in danger. Given that he is knowingly unaware about The Kang Council, it is likely he will eventually find out once he encounters them in Avengers: Kang Dynasty.- He will end up being mocked by The Kang Council for not knowing about the consequences of seeing them after defeating Kang.
Possible Ideas of Ant-Man future
With there being possibilities of Ant-Man returning, it is likely there are possible adventures that might happen. Possible future antagonists of Ant-Man
Since Kang is defeated, there are other possibilities of what villains Scott might face.- Black Knight
- Whilrwind
Cassie will dye her hair
In the comics, Cassie Lang has Blond hair, a trait her current actress, Kathryn Newton shares, however in the film she has brown hair to match the appearences of Abby Ryder Forston and Emma Fuhrmann, who played the role previously, so it's possible Cassie may go blonde in later appearences, allowing Kathryn to use her natural hair colour, while drawing closer to the look of the comics.