Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explains why Ant-Man was deemed the right Avenger to kick off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has revealed why Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania was selected as the start of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he’d earned that position,” Feige told Empire. “To not simply be the back-up or the comic relief, but to take his position at the front of the podium of the MCU.” Added Quantumania director Peyton Reed, “We’re not running around the streets of San Francisco anymore. We’re fighting one of the most powerful villains in Marvel history.”

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The first Ant-Man film opened in theaters two months after Avengers: Age of Ultron, offering Marvel fans an MCU film with smaller stakes and more comedy. The 2015 film’s sequel — Ant-Man and the Wasp — was also released after a major Avengers film — 2018’s Infinity War — giving the fandom some much-needed lightheartedness after witnessing the devastating events of Infinity War. Since then, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man has become a vital part of the MCU, appearing as a main character in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and helping Earth’s Mightiest Heroes defeat Thanos and bring back half the universe. Ant-Man will now be the first Avenger to go up against Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), with the time-traveling villain set to become the new big bad of the MCU.

The Kang Dynasty Begins in Quantumania

With Quantumania confirmed to be as impactful to the MCU as Civil War, Marvel fans are expecting to see Majors’ Kang emerge as a formidable foe not only to Ant-Man but to the entire MCU. Marvel Studios has certainly teased that the threequel will connect to the upcoming film, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with the tagline on the latest poster for Quantumania reading, “Witness the beginning of a new dynasty.” Majors himself has previously discussed how Kang will add “real conflict and real friction” to the MCU, stating, “You’re being introduced to a new vibration in the MCU. There’s conflict – not just mano-a-mano, not just hero and villain, but ‘your way of life’ and ‘my way of life’. I’m coming for it. We’re in battle here.”

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Set after the events of Endgame, Quantumania sees Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Rudd) and Hope van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) exploring the Quantum Realm with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits and pit them against Kang the Conqueror.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens in theaters on Feb. 17.

Source: Empire