Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s original ending was cut by Marvel Studios in order to minimize comparisons and similarities to Avengers: Endgame, another significant MCU film.
When seen as a whole, Ant-Man 3 and Avengers 4 do share some important aspects, most notably the fact that they both include a lot of Quantum Realm action. Before Scott Lang and his family are drawn into the universe for the majority of Ant-Man 3’s plot, Ant-Man, and the Avengers use this realm in an effort to Save half of humanity by collecting the Infinity Stones in the Endgame.
A lot of fans voiced their displeasure with Marvel Studios’ efforts with this much-anticipated threequel after Ant-Man 3 served as the MCU’s official launch of Phase 5 in the Phase 5 movie reviews.
One of those was the end of the narrative, which saw Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne not only beat Kang in the Quantum Realm but escape back to the actual world and achieve their “happily ever after”-style ending instead of coping with something much worse.
Ant-Man 3 Ignores Comparisons to Avengers: Endgame
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, writer Jeff Loveness of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania discussed how he and Marvel Studios’ filmmakers changed the movie’s finale from its original version to avoid replicating a plot point from Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
If Scott and Hope ended up trapped in the Quantum Realm, Loveness said that this would “literally be repeating the exact same beat” from the closing seconds of Ant-Man and the Wasp when the question of whether such an ending has ever occurred was raised.
In order to escape the Quantum Realm once more, Scott would have been compelled to employ the same strategies he utilized in Avengers: Endgame, which would have made the films too similar:
“Yes, without a doubt. All of it was discussed, and on paper, it appeared exciting. Yet at the end of the day, we would be basically replicating the final beat from the previous “Ant-Man” film. There also weren’t a lot of routes to go that were distinct from ‘Endgame.’ If Scott is locked in the Quantum Realm, as he is in the final scene of the previous film, the only way out is for him to escape there, as he does in “Endgame.”
As a result, the movie’s original finale was cut, and, according to reports, the movie’s last scenes were reworked during reshoots soon before Quantumania’s release.
Loveness stated that Scott Lang is “a man who’s gone through constant suffering, grief, and sadness,” and that it might be more unexpected to see him receive a joyful ending as he did in Ant-Man 3: Winter Soldier.
“Scott Lang is a man who, like Spider-Man or Charlie Brown, has experienced constant pain, loss, and agony. So perhaps giving him a happy ending with the lack of confidence he exhibits in the first act would be more unexpected. He has an enduring sense of dread, as opposed to the beginning of the movie when his family is hiding things from him and he is carefree. The movie ends with his family enjoying themselves, but he still has a secret to maintain. He is choosing to ignore the awful sinking sensation that is creeping up on him despite his sense of impending dread.”
Loveness also discussed the film’s conclusion with Variety, revealing that it had been discussed to keep Scott and Hope trapped in the Quantum Realm but also expressing doubt that it “would have been gratifying” to do so:
“Yes, it was discussed. I’m not sure if I have the right to talk about that. As production neared, we undoubtedly went through each beat and considered our options. To me, [following behind] seems a little monotonous. That might not have been satisfying, in my opinion. That sounds a little reductive in relation to the second film as if they are confined once more and will escape in the upcoming “Endgame” or something. It would not have been as good if we had used the same beats from the second movie.”
Gizmondo also discussed the conclusion of Ant-Man 3 with Loveness, comparing it to Frodo in The King of the Rings, and said it was “cooler” to have such a carefree character actually end his journey on a happy note. While having the adventure, Scott also worries that he might have made a mistake, making it possible that the character who preserved the universe in the Infinity Saga will also cause all of the problems in the Multiverse Saga:
“I truly think it’s nicer that the character, who was so slacker and thought his heroic days were past, suddenly finishes the movie with Frodo going back to the Shire,’ the viewer says. You had your experience, but you’re no longer the same person. The mental peace is absent from you. Yet despite your desire to consume that cake and attempt to give your daughter a fictitious birthday, you are aware that you could have made a mistake. The idea that the person who essentially saved the cosmos in the previous phase might unintentionally be the person who messes up the Multiverse in this phase intrigues me. like, let’s wait and see. Let’s wait and see, man.”
No issues with the quantum realm for Ant-Man 3
With reshoots occurring just one month before the film’s release, Ant-Man 3 undoubtedly went through several different endings in order to achieve the desired effect for Marvel.
This was primarily done to prevent Marvel from using the same story beats repeatedly, especially in light of all the criticism the company has received recently.
Although Ant-Man 3’s second post-credits sequence had hinted that more of this would appear in Loki Season 2, viewers will have to wait a little longer to discover how dangerous Kang will be as the Multiverse Saga advances. Even with a comparatively pleasant ending this time, fresh perils aren’t far ahead because this threequel serves as an immediate setting for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and other forthcoming films.