Marvel Studios kicked off Phase 5 this week with its premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Quantumania is the third film in the Ant-Man trilogy, following 2015’s Ant-Man and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. The third installment stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline, Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Michael Douglas, alongside a supporting cast that David Dastmalchian, William Jackson Harper, Katy O’Brian, and Bill Murray.
Marvel Studios wrapped Phase 4 with the anticipated-for-years Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November. It debuted atop the box office with a record-setting $181.4 million in the U.S. and has earned $831.2 million globally since premiering two months ago.
Peyton Reed, who’s back in the director’s chair for Quantumania, told Entertainment Weekly he hopes to bring the gravitas of Avengers films to the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp.
“People felt like, Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic Avengers movie,” Reed. “For this third one, I said, ‘I don’t want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big Avengers movie.”
According to critics’ early reactions, it looks like Reed has hit the nail on the head. Variety editor Jazz Tangcay “had an absolute blast” with the film, while Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub called Quantumania a “strong start to Phase 5.” Some critics weren’t nearly as positive, with CNET’s Sean Keane saying the flick has “way too much going on.”
Check out the first reactions to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania below.
