Ant-Man and the Wasp connects directly to Avengers 4, new video explains how

Marvel on Friday released a new behind-the-scenes featurette for the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp, in which studio president Kevin Feige says that the film “connects directly to Avengers 4.”

Feige begins the two-minute video by talking about Wasp, played in the Ant-Man films by Evangeline Lilly. “Wasp is a legacy character,” he says, and notes that she was on the cover of the first Avengers comic book.

In the first film, we saw the original Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) perish during a mission, and at the end, we see Hank Pym, Michael Douglas’ scientist character, hand over the mantle to his daughter, Hope. “Her parents had been superheroes in their day,” says Lilly, highlighting the importance of the legacy Hope has to fulfil. “She lives to be Wasp,” Lilly continues.

But things begin to get interesting when Feige starts talking about the Quantum Realm, a limbo of sorts where Janet Van Dyne was assumed to be trapped in. Ant-Man and the Wasp will introduce this concept to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it is the Quantum Realm which is expected to play a huge part in Avengers 4.

The fourth Avengers film, due out in May 2019, is being touted as a ‘significant conclusion’ to the MCU as we know it. It will also provide closure to the plot of Avengers: Infinity War, at the end of which the villainous Thanos ‘kills’ half the universe’s population - and half the Avengers - with the snap of a finger.

Set pictures and unofficial synopses have hinted at the events of Infinity War being reversed in Avengers 4 with the aid of time travel and alternate realities, aka the Quantum Realm.

A significant chunk of Ant-Man and the Wasp’s plot is devoted to a mission that involves Scott and Hope venturing into the Realm to rescue Janet, played in the film by Michelle Pfeiffer. “These characters are going to be very important going forward,” Feige teases.

First reactions to the movie were shared online on Saturday and they were unanimous in praise for the fun tone and inventive action.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is scheduled for release on July 13 in India. It will be followed by Captain Marvel in early 2019.

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