Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard officially confirmed an MCU fan theory that was first formulated after Ant-Man and The Wasp premiered as part of Phase 3.
The Ant-Man trilogy slowly built up in scale over the past eight years as one of the first Avengers from Marvel Comics found his place in the grand MCU storyline. And while Ant-Man 3 is finally set to explore the Quantum Realm more deeply than either of its predecessors, a couple of major theories from the tiny Avenger's story remain unresolved and unaddressed before the start of Phase 5.
In late January, star Paul Rudd teased the Easter eggs that will be seen in this new movie while director Peyton Reed noted that there will be "some surprising faces that may show up in the Quantum Realm."
Phase 3 Ant-Man Fan Theory Confirmed
During an interview with Inverse, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard confirmed a fan theory tying back to an Easter egg seen in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Broussard explained that the Quantum Realm was meant to bend the rules of everything that's known on the surface world, with conversations about that idea beginning during the production of Ant-Man 2:
"We sort of challenge ourselves at every turn like, what’s the Quantum version of this? How can it feel like the rules are a little skewed and a little different? And the conversations for doing that started when ['Ant-Man 2'] was done."
He looked back to the moment when Hank Pym rescues Janet Van Dyne, noting that fans can see a small city in the background as they're coming back up to the surface:
“We had put some little Easter eggs when they found Janet that could that could hint to more life and more civilization down there,” Broussard says. “That’s these DVD freeze moments, if you if you want to look for them. I think people have found it before, there’s a moment when Hank finally rescues Janet. And they are making their escape back up to our world in his quantum pod, his sled there. And in the background, you see sort of this domed city, this glass city that kind of mixes in with the background there, but it’s oddly architectural.”
This was meant to get fans thinking about whether they saw a city in the Quantum Realm or something completely different"
"And so it’s like, wait a second: Did I just see a bubble of a cell or something microscopic? Was that architectural? Was that actually a city?"
He explained that the city's design was "inspired by a very specific piece of comic book art," indicating that this was an indicator of where things could go in a possible Ant-Man 3:
"That was laying our marker down for a Part Three, if we come back. You never know if you’re gonna get a chance to do another one. That was us saying what we would do, if we should be so lucky."
Quantum City Finally Addressed in Ant-Man 3
Marvel Studios is known for its use of Easter eggs in every single one of its movies and TV shows, some of which don't find a resolution until years down the road. But with the Quantum Realm being such a big part of the MCU's first Phase 5 movie, the opportunity was perfect to look back at this small Phase 3 detail as it becomes a much more important part of this MCU threequel.
The Ant-Man 3 trailers highlighted a number of shots from this city, setting it as the main hub of the Quantum Realm and teasing the way Kang the Conqueror runs his subatomic empire. And now, fans have yet another fun connection back to the franchise's expansive past as the Ant-Man story keeps growing, even in the midst of bigger movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
With this being likely just one of many Easter eggs that make their way back to the forefront in this sequel, only time will tell what past and future movies end up tying into this new Multiverse Saga adventure.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will arrive in theaters on Friday, February 17.
