9. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
There’s an argument to be made that Phase 4 of the MCU has been, by far, the worst chapter in Marvel’s saga of interconnected projects. Things didn’t feel the same after Earth’s Mightiest Heroes managed to put an end to Thanos’ plan in Avengers: Endgame. As such, audiences started to wonder if there was ever a need to keep the MCU alive or if it would’ve been better to end it on a high note with Iron Man’s death. However, for better or worse, Marvel had no intention of stopping.
Phase 5 needed to start off with a bang to make everybody feel optimistic about the MCU again. So it didn’t matter what project was going to be the first on the slate, it needed to deliver an unforgettable experience for the better. And wouldn’t you know it, that project just so happened to be Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quauntumania.
Aside from expecting the movie to be good for Marvel to make a statement, numerous signs indicated audiences were in for an amazing experience. Peyton Reed, the movie’s director, claimed Scott Lang’s latest adventure wasn’t going to be a “palate cleanser” just like previous entries in the Ant-Man saga. Instead of delivering a fun, isolated experience with a scope the size of an ant, Peyton wanted to tell a narrative worthy of being on an Avengers film. To prove that, Kang the Conqueror himself was announced as the main antagonist of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quauntumania. That was huge news. After all, Kang would be the one to replace Thanos as the big bad of the MCU for its Multiverse Saga.
Paul Rudd also claimed he wanted the Ant-Man character to go through a re-invention of sorts, similar to what Thor: Ragnarok did for the God of Thunder. But even with all the good news, audiences weren’t quite hoping for the movie to be a huge success. So with tempered expectations, fans went to the movie theater… and they still left with disappointment.
There are many reasons for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quauntumania’s failure. The script wasn’t polished at all, the reshoots were evident, and the special effects looked pretty terrible (especially on M.O.D.O.K.). Speaking of which, the villains of the movie were a huge disappointment as well, and many of the jokes failed to make audiences laugh. Taking all of that into account, it comes as no surprise Scott Lang’s latest adventure succeeded in disappointing audiences who didn’t have the highest of expectations to begin with.