Black Panther: Wakanda Forever brought a number of MCU Easter eggs, even including one 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
In creating Black Panther 2, director Ryan Coogler and the whole Black Panther team were faced with a number of challenges, from appropriately honoring the late Chadwick Boseman to introducing Namor the Sub-mariner and Talokan to ushering in Wakanda's next Black Panther.
But the emotional sequel managed to serve the greater MCU as well, particularly in noting what has happened in the past and teasing what's to come in the future.
One of those teases happens to be an Easter egg for Marvel Studios' next film and the first MCU film of Phase 5, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Black Panther 2's Quantumania Easter Egg
During a scene in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where CNN is reporting on Wakanda, a news ticker at the bottom of the footage references a potential plot point for Ant-Man 3.
As CNN's Anderson Cooper addresses audiences, the news ticker reads "Scott Lang continues tour in support of autobiography Look Out For The Little Guy."
Now, this isn't the first audiences have seen or heard about Scott Lang's post-Endgame celebrity.
His book and public status have already been teased in the first trailer for Ant-Man 3 and in its D23 teaser.
And, before that, Ms. Marvel on Disney+ confirmed that Lang has a podcast, which is how she and most of the world learned about the events of Avengers: Endgame.
This also isn't the first time Marvel Studios has hidden an Easter egg in a news broadcast.
Spider-Man: No Way Home referenced the political climate of New Asgard through a news ticker ahead of Thor: Love and Thunder's release.
Does Black Panther 2 Occur Before Ant-Man 3?
Even though Scott Lang's fame isn't a secret at this point, this Black Panther Easter egg intentionally doubled down on him being a public figure for a reason.
It's likely that this new territory is key to his own arc in Quantumania. After all, in all of his prior MCU appearances, he's always struggling to achieve recognition both privately and publicly.
While his celebrity is sure to be key to the threequel in some form or fashion, Wakanda Forever's reference to his book tour establishes something else.
Leading up to Black Panther 2's debut, Marvel producer Nate Moore confirmed that Wakanda Forever takes place "after [Spider-Man: No Way Home] and Eternals" and is "concurrent" with Thor: Love and Thunder and "almost concurrent" with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Not only does the film's Ant-Man Easter egg support this, but it suggests that Lang has been on the road and away from home before the events of the threequel.
Perhaps this is a contributing factor to his and Cassie's relationship and the theme of lost time.
While fans will have to wait and see, Black Panther 2 has done what many MCU fans have been wanting from Phase 4 - ties, connections, and groundwork to the MCU's overarching story.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is playing in theaters. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will then premiere on February 17, 2023.
