Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard recently confirmed that a popular fan theory connecting the upcoming movie to the previous installment in the Ant-Man franchise is correct.
In an interview with Inverse, Broussard revealed that a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail in Ant-Man and the Wasp was intended to foreshadow Quantumania’s Quantum Realm focus, as some fans theorized. “We had put some little Easter eggs when they found Janet [in Ant-Man and the Wasp] that could hint to more life and more civilization down there,” he said.
“That’s these DVD freeze moments if you want to look for them. I think people have found it before, there’s a moment when Hank finally rescues Janet. And they are making their escape back up to our world in his quantum pod, his sled there. And in the background, you see sort of this domed city, this glass city that kind of mixes in with the background there, but it’s oddly architectural.”
“And so it’s like, ‘Wait a second: Did I just see a bubble of a cell or something microscopic?'” Broussard continued. “‘Was that architectural? Was that actually a city?’ … That was laying our marker down for a Part Three, if we come back. You never know if you’re gonna get a chance to do another one. That was us saying what we would do, if we should be so lucky.” Not every narrative seed sown in Ant-Man and the Wasp will bear fruit in Quantumania, though. Director Peyton Reed previously confirmed that the identity of Sonny Burch’s employer will remain a mystery, as there was no room in Quantumania‘s runtime to resolve this dangling plot thread.
Ant-Man 3’s Crew Discuss the Quantum Realm
Instead, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania focuses primarily on the adventures of its titular protagonists and their allies in the Quantum Realm. The microscopic dimension is brought to life through extensive use of CGI, however, production designer Will Htay recently insisted that practical sets and effects were used as much as possible. According to Htay, the goal of Reed and Quantumania‘s production team was to make the Quantum Realm feel “real and tangible,” to give audiences the sensation that they were exploring an actual place.
The filmmakers also tried to avoid making Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s fantastical setting and spectacular set pieces more important than its characters and themes. Broussard touched on this in a recent interview, referring to the Quantum Realm environment as “window dressing” compared to the father-daughter story at Quantumania‘s core.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives in theaters on Feb. 17, 2023.
