Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania-My Trailer Two Reaction

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WenIJDANnsQ

Undeniably, I think the only suitable reaction to the Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer that dropped at the National College Football Championship game last night is one of eager anticipation for what is to come. Returning off the back of a summatively lacklustre Phase 4, that left many fans wanting more from a studio that had previously provided so much, this window into the commencement of Phase 5 perfectly fulfils its purpose; capturing fan excitement and attention for the ensuing era of The Kang Dynasty.

The audience were able to pre-establish, following the events of the first trailer, that Cassie’s experiment had catapulted the whole family back into the Quantum Realm that Lang had emerged from to fulfil his role in Avengers Endgame, and where Janet had resided for so much of her life. On the other hand, the initial advertisement left a significant amount to the imagination when it came to the underlying plot of the project as a whole; this is no longer the case. Firstly, one thing that was already pre-established is that Ant-Man comes toe to toe with the MCU’s newest antagonist in the form of Kang the Conqueror, one of countless variants that He Who Remains had warned Loki and Sylvie of before his demise in Loki Season One. It is transparent that Marvel has already started to highlight the contrast between Jonathan Major’s role in the Disney+ Series and his new role in this project, and without doubt they are doing a very good job in capturing this shift. The portrayal of Kang has been sublime thus far in promotion for this movie, from the infamous ‘You’re an avenger? Have I killed you before?’ to the character’s intimidating voiceover from the outset of this trailer and the costume decisions made by the studio, that stay true to the source material whilst boasting a modern dimension. If anything, this trailer has cemented Kang’s assumed place in the hierarchy of power in the MCU, with his countless abilities in manipulating the course of time and reality transpiring to be one of its focal points, and presumably the main focus of this project as a whole. Reinforced by the undeniable acting talent of Jonathan Majors, I am overtly confident that this newest Marvel villain will rival the likes of Thanos, and that Majors will propel this role into being one of the most revered franchise characters to date.

Revisiting the topic of costume design, from the snippets we have indulged in so far, the costumes of Ant-Man and The Wasp are looking better than ever. The small details that have clearly been enhanced or edited for these newest iterations of the characters are the focal point for any Marvel costume, making them either dull and forgettable or eye catching and complex; it is safe to say these outfits fall into the latter category. It is important to mention also that I am eager to see Evangeline Lily reprise her well established role, as well as seeing what Kathryn Newton can bring to the role of Cassie; a very talented young actress with an impressive portfolio thus far, starring in the likes of Freaky and The Society, with an undoubtedly increasingly promising career ahead of her. Despite this, the latest trailer does suggest that this story very much centres on Scott Lang, with his family members acting as a catalyst for the plot as a whole.

With reference to the story that is implied within the latest trailer, it is a well documented fact that Scott’s biggest regret in life is his absence in Cassie’s earlier life; a fact that it seems Kang is keen to capitalise on. On the face of it, it appears that blissfully unaware of the monumental power of his newest foe, Scott partakes in a deal of sorts with him, disregarding the vehement warnings of Janet Van Dyne, and seemingly completing Kang’s bidding in exchange for more ‘time’ with his daughter; ‘time’ being something both Lang and Kang are supposedly in desperate need of. Rather expectedly for those who are familiar with existing Marvel lore, it seems that Scott’s assistance of Kang does not end favourably for our beloved Ant-Man, and the portrayal of a battle torn Paul Rudd being brutalised by the antagonist, along with a cryptic shot of a smashed helmet as the trailer comes to a close very much feeds into a dreaded prediction for the conclusion of Quantumania; that this will be the demise of a character who has been a fan favourite since 2015. All of this being said however, one criticism of this trailer is that it appears to overshare when it comes to the finer details of this upcoming project. I would not be surprised at all, given Marvel’s track record, if the suggested plot is not quite what it seems, and if the studio are effectively selling us one thing, including a conclusion that has been heavily speculated, whilst gearing up to strike us with something altogether undocumented. I am painfully and constantly aware of one fact when evaluating Marvel’s promotional material; expect the unexpected.

One final reveal that I am surprised was included in this trailer was the introduction of MODOK, whose character despite being the subject of frequent discourse, currently has a mostly unknown role in the storyline of this movie. It is now confirmed that Corey Stoll, who took on the mantle of Yellowjacket in the first Ant-Man film, will return to further torment Scott Lang in this new role, but blink and you will miss his grand reveal within this most recent trailer. The inclusion of this highly anticipated character furthers my hunch that there is something or someone world shattering set to make an appearance in this project that has been kept firmly under wraps, as on the face of it, it seems that Marvel have put all their cards on the table at such an early stage; which going off previous trends is very rarely the case.

In summation, this trailer has undeniably piqued my excitement for the commencement of Phase 5, with the introduction of Kang being a deciding factor in this anticipation. In what looks set to be an incredibly emotive, as well as visually pleasing and action packed movie, I am admittedly anxious for his character’s fate by the film’s conclusion, but nonetheless I believe Paul Rudd will provide a performance that defines his Marvel career as a whole, and that himself and Jonathan Majors will be the shining lights of this upcoming Marvel project. Bring on February 17th!