“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” kicked off its phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing the big bad for Marvel’s next phases of films and giving yet another small taste of the multiverse to come. What does the third “Ant-Man” installment say about the future of Marvel’s multiverse saga?  

The “Ant-Man” movies have always been relatively low-stakes chapters of the Marvel storybook, relying on mostly charm and humor rather than original or complex plot to entertain the audience. However, given that “Ant-Man and the Wasp” served as an important piece of the puzzle when it came to setting up the time travel aspect that was crucial to the plot of “Avengers: Endgame,” the significance of these movies in the overarching story is not to be ignored.   

So far, the only Marvel projects exploring the multiverse thus far have been “Loki,” “What If…?,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and now “Quantumania.” As these films don’t have a very strong connection to one another, it begs the question when and how Marvel will start to connect the dots.  

The first connective tissue beginning to tie the movies together is the “Quantumania” villain Kang the Conqueror. For some backstory, Kang’s true identity is Nathaniel Richards, a descendant of both Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom. Living in the 31st Century, Nathaniel Richards discovered time travel and the existence of the multiverse, and become the conqueror seen in “Quantumania.”  

Kang is slated to appear next in “Loki” season 2 and “Avengers: Kang Dynasty” for certain, but there has been speculation as to where else he may appear before the next big Avengers event, such as “Moon Knight” season 2, “What If…?” season 2, “Deadpool 3,” or “Fantastic Four.”  

Along with Kang, the younger heroes Marvel has introduced throughout phase four may be part of the plan to start connecting the films together. The additions of Cassie Lang, America Chavez, Peter Parker, Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, Billy and Tommy Maximoff and more hint towards a Young Avengers line up to be seen in the near future.   

Of course, all of these films and TV shows are building up towards another “Endgame” level event. In just two short years, Marvel will attempt to recreate the success they had with the Infinity Saga by releasing “Avengers: Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” just six months apart.   

Many question, though, if Marvel will be able to recreate that success at all. As fans complain of predictable plots, an overuse of commputer-generated imagery, priority of quantity over quality and poorly written characters, it’s unclear whether Marvel will be able to get the fanbase back in their favor enough to drum up the same excitement towards the next big crossover.   

The next film installment of Phase Five will be “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” releasing on May 5. Highly anticipated, this film will hopefully give more insight on the direction of phase five and begin to make it clear where the fans stand on the development of the Multiverse Saga.