Warning: massive spoilers ahead for Ant-Man and The Wasp**! Read ahead at your own peril!**
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has established a number of important traditions over the years. Some traditions have involved paying homage to Star Wars by cutting off the hands of characters, while others have involved using post-credits scenes to move the overarching narrative forward. Another tradition involves leaving notes that a character or set of characters "will return" in future installments, but Ant-Man and The Wasp handily sidesteps any possibility of them coming back for Ant-Man 3 by adding a question mark to the note.
Those of you who have seen Ant-Man and The Wasp already know why this is the case. In the film's first post-credits scene, Scott Lang enters the Quantum Realm on a mission to collect more of that restorative energy to help Ghost. However, things go horribly awry when that scene lines up with the ending of Avengers: Infinity War, and Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and Hope van Dyne are dusted by Thanos and the Infinity Stones. The moment stops on a cliffhanger, with audiences unsure as to how Scott Lang will make it out of the Quantum Realm in one piece. Then, as the credits wrap up, the final message to the audience is the simple question of "Ant-Man and The Wasp Will Return?"
This is obviously a big deal, as it means our newly-reunited family has officially been killed. Avengers: Infinity War left the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an unprecedented body count, and we still don't know if all of the dusted people will be able to return. Marvel has left the future of Ant-Man and The Wasp a complete mystery, and we now genuinely have no idea if Ant-Man and The Wasp 2 a.k.a Ant-Man 3 can actually happen (at least, in the current form of that franchise).
Of course, we obviously know that this isn't where the story of the Ant-Man corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will come to an end. We already know that Scott Lang will play a role in Avengers 4, as evidenced by the leaked set photos showing him alongside other Avengers characters in next year's epic Phase 3 conclusion. However, even with that reveal, the possibility of Ant-Man and The Wasp 2 remains mostly dependent on what happens in Avengers 4. If Marvel does have an answer for whether or not Ant-Man and The Wasp 2 is happening, it hasn't revealed it yet.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is now in theaters, so make sure to check the film out! Looking ahead to next year and the payoff of that awesome post-credits scene, watch out for Avengers 4 when The Russo brothers' next MCU film debuts on May 3, 2019! If you want more information about Ant-Man and The Wasp while we wait for next year to roll around, check out our in-depth review of the film, as well as our Rate and Discuss page!
