SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
Release Date: February 17, 2023
Directed By: Peyton Reed
Written By: Jeff Loveness
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Kathryn Newton, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jonathan Majors
Rating: PG-13 for violence/action, and language
Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania has long been teased as a key part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future. Following the finale of Loki Season 1, the blockbuster is the chapter of the franchise that delivers a full introduction to Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror – who is lined up to be the Thanos-esque big bad of what’s been dubbed The Multiverse Saga. But, of course, it’s not just the main movie that is hyping what’s to come from the MCU; there is also a pair of end credit scenes designed to preview what’s on the way in the canon.
What happens in these special Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania ending credit scenes, and what do they actually mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We’ve put together this feature to address those very questions – so let’s start with a quick recap of exactly what it is that happens in both the mid-credits and post-credit sequences.
What Happens In The End Credits Of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Throughout the film, Kang The Conqueror explains that he has been exiled to the Quantum Realm and that while he is an unquestionably dangerous threat, his powers don’t match those of the people who cast him out of the multiverse. It’s not explicitly said in the blockbuster who Kang is referring to, but the movie’s mid-credits sequence makes it 100 percent clear.
The scene takes us to parts unknown in time and space and introduces not just a single other Kang, but many. Variants of the powerful despot come together after learning about the destruction of their exiled counterpart, and the event is specifically discussed between three of them: the sorcerer-looking Immortus, a Kang from a distant future, and the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Rama Tut II. It’s explained that they were the ones that sent the variant to the Quantum Realm and regret that they didn’t kill him themselves.
What’s more important, however, is that an awareness of the multiverse is growing, and that has potential consequences for their plans. As a result, the time has come for the Kangs to make their move. As the camera pulls back, we realize that it’s not just the three of them that are ready to unleash chaos, but hundreds, if not thousands of Kangs who cheer at the prospect of getting to work on conquering all of reality.
With the mid-credits sequence clearly teasing what’s on the way in the next couple of years on the road to Avengers: Kang Dynasty, the post-credits sequence is much more focused. Taking place in what appears to be early 20th century America, the scene features another Kang variant going by the name Victor Timely, who we meet as he is putting on a special exhibition for a packed audience. It’s revealed that two members of this crowd are familiar faces: the Loki variant (Tom Hiddleston) who serves as the titular protagonist of the Loki Disney+ show, and his good pal Mobius (Owen Wilson).
The God of Mischief recognizes Victor from his time spent with He Who Remains at the end of Loki Season 1, and while Mobius isn’t overly impressed with the show being put on, Loki knows that the proper feeling to have in the moment is fear.
What Is The Council Of Kangs?
During his conflict with Scott Lang in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Kang The Conqueror presents himself as a kind of utilitarian best option. He freely admits that he will unleash all kinds of death and destruction should he be able to escape from the Quantum Realm, but he also affirms that what he would do is nothing compared to the horror and terror that would be set in motion by those who exiled him. This is not ultimately a threat that the eponymous heroes end up taking fully into consideration – and that may end up being reflected on as a massive mistake due to the overwhelming power of the Council of Kangs.
Between the infinite expanse of the multiverse and Kang’s well-established penchant for time travel, there is an exceptionally large population of Kang variants, and what makes them incredibly dangerous is that they are unified and have very scary objectives: it is their goal to conquer everything. He Who Remains from Loki was able to contain this group with the creation of the Time Variance Authority and the establishment of the Sacred Timeline, but he is now dead. And, while the exiled Kang in the Quantum Realm evidently knew how to keep the Council of Kangs controlled, he has now been destroyed as well. With those key roadblocks out of the way, it would appear that the heroes of the MCU are going to have their hands full trying to stop the dangerous group.
Ant-Man and Wasp are apparently strong enough to defeat a very powerful Kang, but how will the Avengers be able to deal with a potentially infinite number of them? That’s going to now be the big question that lingers over what’s coming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 5 and Phase 6.
How Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’s End Credits Set Up Loki Season 2
When we last left Loki at the end of Loki Season 1, he was very out of sorts. Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killing He Who Remains effectively destroyed the Sacred Timeline, and the adopted Asgardian was essentially flung across the multiverse into a new reality – one where Mobius and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) were completely unaware of his existence. That circumstance left the show on a big cliffhanger… though the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scene suggests that the God of Mischief is going to get at least Mobius back on his side as they go on a time traveling adventure looking for Kang.
Like other past MCU end credits scenes, the second tease-y clip in the new blockbuster doesn’t seem to be original content, but instead footage taken from Loki Season 2 (though we can’t say at this point exactly which episode). It appears that the plot of the show’s second run will involve Loki and Mobius traveling through time to try and find Kang – though what they plan to do after they find the variant named Victor Timely is unclear. Will they seek to destroy him? Will they try and get him to reestablish the Time Variance Authority? Those are questions without answers right now, but we’ll be excited to learn the solutions when the streaming series returns later in 2023.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters, and if you now need more of Kang The Conqueror in your life, you can rewatch the first season of Loki with a Disney+ subscription. For more Marvel-related reading, you can scope out what’s on the way from the franchise on both the big and small screens with our upcoming Marvel Movies and upcoming Marvel TV guides, and take a look back at the entirety of the canon with our Marvel movies ranked and Marvel movies in order features.
