Marvel Studios blew up San Diego Comic-Con earlier in the year when it revealed both its Phase 5 and Phase 6 slates, one of which begins with Ant-Man 3 and the other that ends with two Avengers films.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sees Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly’s heroes return to face a new foe: Kang the Conquerer. Jonathon Major’s character first appeared in the season finale of Loki as He Who Remains, but will introduce his next more sinister variant in Ant-Man 3.
Just like in the comics, Kang the Conquerer is set to be a huge character in the MCU as a prevailing villain for the Avengers. If there’s any better indication of that, Phase 6 is set to end with two Avengers movies, one of which is titled The Kang Dynasty.
As it turns out the movies at the beginning and end of Phases 5 and 6 will be intricately connected.
Ant-Man 3 Sets Up Avengers 5
During the Marvel Studios panel on Saturday at D23, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed to the audience that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania "goes right into" Avengers: The Kang Dynasty:
"This is a big movie. It goes right into Kang Dynasty."
The Ant-Man threequel won't be the only Phase 5 project to dovetail into the next Avengers film though. Via Matt Ramos, footage for Loki Season 2 teased that a war from Kang the Conqueror is coming (a secret war, perhaps?) and this would be "the calm before the storm."
Loki Season 2 capitalizes off of the ending of the first Season. This is the calm before the storm. Loki is trying to warn everyone about the coming war with Kang.
More of the footage also teased some propaganda for Jonathan Majors' Multiversal villain:
"There's also a shot where Loki chisels away a mural of the Time Keepers to reveal a wall of giant golden Kang variant faces."
The Kang Dynasty is Coming
Just like Thanos was the main villain for the Infinity Saga, Kang is seemingly his counterpart in the Multiverse Saga which ties Phases 4 through 6 together.
This will all apparently kick off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. New footage shown at D23 revealed that the film will see Scott Lang undertake a job for Kang in order to save his family from captivity in the quantum realm. However, this all ends will presumably set the stage for big things to come in Avengers 5, which will be directed by Shang-Chi’s Daniel Destin Cretton.
Majors’ Kang is also set to appear in another Phase 5 project, Loki season 2. Footage from that project at D23 revealed Kang’s impact throughout the multiverse and at the TVA. How all these things will tie together in the finale of Phase 6 remains to be seen, but it’s quickly becoming clear Kang is not a threat to be taken lightly.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is scheduled for release on February 17, 2023, and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is dated May 2, 2025.
