‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’ Clips: Paul Rudd & Company Take On Kang the Conqueror As Marvel Kicks Off Phase Five This Friday

2022 was sort of a mixed bag for the MCU. On the one hand, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were two of the year’s biggest box office hits. On the other hand, mixed reviews for “Thor: Love and Thunder” led to suggestions that Marvel’s once-dominant media empire had started to slip.

All of which is to say that the stakes are higher than expected for the upcoming “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania.” The third film of the “Ant-Man” franchise officially marks the start of Phase Five for Marvel; luckily, the threequel arrives with all its major talent intact.

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Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reprise their titular roles from 2018’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Also returning are Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer as Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, the original Ant-Man and the Wasp. Kathryn Newton, meanwhile, plays Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie. Together, the extended family of heroes embarks on an adventure in the so-called Quantum Realm, where there lurks a powerful new adversary. 

Perhaps the juiciest new element in “Quantumania” is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, who features in Phases 5 and 6 as the MCU’s next big cross-movie villain. Fans speculated about Kang being the next Marvel big bad since his debut in “Loki” in 2020, and now “Quantumania” confirms it. The other eye-catching cast addition is comedy icon Bill Murray as Krylar, the governor of a lavish community of sorts in the Quantum Realm.

Peyton Reed returns to direct “Quantumania,” after shepherding both previous “Ant-Man” installments. “Rick And Morty” writer Jeff Loveness pens the film’s script. ” In 2020, Loveness suggested Marvel Studios wanted to do “something new and weird” with the film to combat superhero fatigue among mainstream audiences. “[They] see that people know how these movies work. They’ve seen 15 of them.”

Fans find out if “Quantumania” properly shakes up the MCU when the film hits theaters this Friday (read The Playlist’s review of the film here). In the meantime, check out some clips from “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” below.