As most of you are probably aware, judging by the ridiculous numbers being put up by Infinity War, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) sat out of the Anthony and Joe Russo-directed blockbuster – one of the few – and his absence has been the source of much speculation. We still don’t know exactly how he’ll eventually join up with the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but he may actually be key to the downfall of Thanos (Josh Brolin) come Avengers 4.
In the waning moments of Infinity War, the Mad Titan, now in possession of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, effectively wiped out half of the universe, thereby turning a significant portion of the titular supergroup into dust, essentially making Thanos the provisional god of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, the Avengers do have something in their favor heading into their final showdown with the villain: Scott Lang. We know that Ant-Man will definitely be in the film and this could spell bad news for the Mad Titan. Aside from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the Avengers have been limited to mostly physical abilities so far. Ant-Man, though, brings something else to the table. Something invaluable. Of course, we’re talking about the Quantum Realm.
The Quantum Realm, as explained by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), is “a reality where all concepts of time and space become irrelevant as you shrink for all eternity.” Ant-Man and the Wasp will see Scott, Hank and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) re-enter the Quantum Realm to find Janet, Hank’s wife, who’s been lost in there since the 1980s.
Hank seems to have perfected technology that’ll allow for safe travel through the Realm via a size-changing experimental vehicle. This could very well end up being a crucial development for the Avengers, too, as Ant-Man could use this access as a way to counter, and possibly undo, the deaths Thanos caused in Infinity War.
The Mad Titan exists in the physical universe and thinks two-dimensionally, and while the Infinity Gauntlet does afford him higher planes of knowledge, he won’t anticipate that the supergroup possesses access to the Quantum Realm. Therefore, unless he’s looking for the Avengers to attack him in ways other than physical, he won’t see Ant-Man coming from there.
Not to mention that at this point, it seems the big bad can’t be defeated solely by physical means. So perhaps the team will have to take him on through a whole different plane of reality? If this turns out to be the case, it’d also be a great way to give Scott Lang an important role after leaving him out of the last film, proving just how helpful he can be to the group.
Chalk this all up as speculation for now, of course, as plot details have been hard to come by, but we should get a clearer picture of things soon, as Ant-Man and the Wasp is currently scheduled for a July 6th release later this year and will serve as a sort of prequel to Infinity War, bridging the gap for Lang following his appearance in Captain America: Civil War. And as for Avengers 4, well, you can expect Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to finish the fight on May 3rd, 2019.