This year’s Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con most definitely delivered the goods when it came to footage. The crowd gathered in Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center got the chance to witness the world premiere of some exciting new previews for upcoming projects, including a brand new look at the upcoming She-Hulk: Attorney At Law series on Disney+ and the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Of course, not all of the footage from the panel was officially released online after its debut – and that includes an exciting sneak peak at Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania that was debuted.
Director Peyton Reed and the stars of the new Marvel film gathered on stage at Hall H this afternoon, and while they couldn’t actually say much about the film during the question and answer portion of their appearance, they did deliver on the footage front, and I’ve broken down what was shown for you below.
Catching up with Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to start, the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania footage began in the City Lights Bookstore where we discover what Ant-Man has been up to since we last saw him in Avengers:Endgame: he’s been writing a book. The tome is titled Look Out For The Little Guy, and he is shown confidently reading a passage to an enraptured crowd – which includes a beaming little kid dressed in Ant-Man cosplay. He explains that he is still on call if the Avengers need him, but that his main priority in life is taking care of his daughter, Cassie. As he finishes the chapter and the crowd applauds, Scott’s phone rings, and the caller ID tells him that it’s the SFPD – leading him to remark aloud, “Why is jail calling?”
It turns out that the reason jail is calling is because Cassie (Kathryn Newton) has been arrested, and Scott goes to the police station to pick her up. Back at home, the father and daughter sit with Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and from context it seems that Cassie has been trying out some vigilante action with some friends. Scott explains that he knows that she is just trying to help, and when Cassie says that she is trying to do something that matters, her dad reminds her that he “literally saved the world.” This comment receives fake shock from everyone else, who sarcastically note that he has never mentioned that fact before, and Janet tells him that he should write a book about it. Shrugging it off, the Avenger retorts, “You’re all welcome for all not being dust.”
From there the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania footage started to get into story territory… while not revealing all that much. Voice over narration from Kang The Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) begins, with the antagonist talking about Scott being a fascinating man, but not having a proper concept of time – it doesn’t unfold in a straight line. This dialogue is played as the heroes stand in a lab around some kind of device, which unexpectedly turns on. As it powers up, it emits a bright blue light that sends out an energy wave, and Cassie gets sucked inside of it. As Scott Lang panics and tries to grab her, he too is pulled inside the light, and – as you probably could have guessed – all of heroes (including Janet, Hank and Hope) get sucked into the Quantum Realm.
In montage footage, we finally get to actually see the mysterious alternate dimension that was teased in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man And The Wasp, including a wide variety of strange aliens, crazy environments… and none other than Bill Murray (well, a character played by Bill Murray, anyway). Dressed in blue, Murray’s mysterious character is shown being particularly elated to see Janet van Dyne, who fans will remember spent decades trapped in the Quantum Realm before being rescued in the previous film in the series. Also very briefly featured is none other than MODOK, whose appearance in the film was confirmed following the footage being played.
Kang’s voice over continues, explaining that he knows how everything in Scott’s life ends. At teh end of the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania clip, the hero meets with Kang face-to-face, and the confident hero explains, “I don’t know who you are, but you’ve made a big mistake. I’m an Avenger.” To this, Kang – walking out of the shadows and on screen for the first time – replies,
You’re an Avenger? I’ve killed you before.
Between its excellent cameos, the revelations with the characters, the humor, and the thrills, the Ant-Man And The Wasp footage got an overwhelming reaction from the crowd, and clearly the Marvel Studios panel convinced the 6,500 people in attendance to check out the film when it hits theaters next year.
Featuring an outstanding cast including Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, Jonathan Majors and more, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania will be the first film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2023 – the blockbuster set to arrive in cinemas everywhere on February 17, 2023. For more big reveals from the Marvel Studios Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, be sure to check out our description of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Comic-Con footage, the title reveals for Phase 5, and the news about the big Avengers films that will be ending Phase 6.
