Now that we have Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in our lives and we’ve met Kang, it’s time to start thinking about what the future of this franchise might look like. It’s worth noting that, for much of the Infinity Saga, Ant-Man was a relatively minor character. He had two movies of his own, but they were basically light-hearted romps, and it was only with Endgame that it started to become clear how pivotal the character could be to the future of the MCU.
That promise has been fulfilled with Quantumania, which puts Ant-Man at the center of introducing Kang, the villain who will come to define the next few years of Marvel stories. As a result, Quantumania is much more serious and tie-in oriented than previous Ant-Man installments, and it’s left some fans wondering where the franchise could be headed from here. With those things in mind, here are a few things Marvel should do in a potential fourth Ant-Man movie.
Note: This article features spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Make it silly again
Quantumania has its moments of levity, but on the whole, this movie is a much more conventional MCU property than previous Ant-Man installments. The first two Ant-Man movies are, by contrast, much more frothy and frivolous. Now, it’s possible to tell stories that are fun and meaningful; the Guardians of the Galaxymovies are both good examples.
If Marvel makes another Ant-Man movie, it should focus squarely on how they can make it feel distinct from the rest of what Marvel has to offer on a regular basis. They cast Paul Rudd in this role for a reason, and they should be willing to let him do his thing, even if he doesn’t go full Anchorman.
Give Evangeline Lilly more to do
Ant-Man and the Wasp was a marked improvement from its predecessor in part because it gave Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne a much more central role in the story. While Hope is in almost all of Quantumania, she doesn’t actually have much to do except save Scott in a few crucial moments.
Scott and Hope’s genuine love for one another is surprisingly rare in the MCU, and it’s a relationship that should be given more time. Scott may be the lead of these movies, but one of the implications of the second half of the title is that Hope should also get plenty to do.
Pass the torch to a new Ant-Man
Look, we all know that Paul Rudd doesn’t age, and he could probably keep playing Scott Lang until he’s 70. If there is another Ant-Man movie, though, it might be the perfect opportunity for a younger actor to take on the mantle. Cassie is sitting right there, and she’s even got her suit all ready to go.
There’s some precedent for Cassie Lang taking on the role, and it seems clear that Marvel is moving more generally toward some sort of young Avengers team-up. Introducing Cassie seems like another step in that path, and her arrival might also be a great moment for Rudd to gracefully step away from the character, or at least out of the spotlight.
A redesigned Ant-Man suit
This is a relatively minor complaint, all things considered, but it would be great to see Scott in a suit that doesn’t look like the suit he’s worn in every other movie. The suit’s capabilities have changed, to be sure, but it seems like the perfect time for Hank Pym to build Scott something new that he can use to take on the world.
Red is obviously Ant-Man’s signature color, but that doesn’t mean all of his suits have to look exactly the same. Tony Stark wore like 40 different outfits over the course of his time as Iron Man, and it’s time for Scott Lang to learn a little bit about fashion.
An inventive climax
Ant-Man has one of the more unique power sets in the entire MCU, and Quantumania comes down to a slugfest between Kang and Ant-Man that features basically no powers. Next time, they should try to find a more innovative way to integrate Ant-Man’s unique power set into the final moments of his film. The earlier Ant-Man films both found ways to do exactly that.
Of course, making a climax inventive doesn’t only involve finding interesting ways to integrate Ant-Man’s powers. Whoever Ant-Man happens to be facing should have a power set that complements his. Kang is certainly an intimidating opponent, but his powers don’t seem to have much to do with Scott’s. Instead, Kang is basically an all-powerful, godlike figure that Scott just has to beat through the power of teamwork.
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