After phase four ended with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the MCU will transition to phase five. The new phase starts with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Kevin Feige explained why the Paul Rudd film kicks things off.
Ant-Man 3 will mark the eighth film since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga and the 31st MCU film. The second sequel will see the return of Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, along with an adult Cassie Lang, now played by Kathryn Newton, as they embark on an adventure through the Quantum Realm and come into contact with Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.
Sitting down with Empire, Feige explained why the third Ant-Man film, unlike its predecessors, has reached the status of kicking off a brand new phase. "We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he’d earned that position," the Marvel Studios boss said. "To not simply be the back-up or the comic relief, but to take his position at the front of the podium of the MCU."
In the same interview, writer Jeff Loveness, who will also pen the script for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, shared that the goal from the start was to make this Ant-Man film have an Avengers-scale story. "The first discussion we had was, ‘What if Ant-Man is accidentally in an Avengers movie by himself?" Loveness said. Ant-Man 3 is tasked with introducing the version of Kang who will presumably take on the Avengers in the future, which director Peyton Reed addressed by saying, "We’re fighting one of the most powerful villains in Marvel history, and maybe these are the most unlikely Avengers to be the first to go up against this guy."
Another reason for the upped dramatic weight and why Feige believes the character has earned the position to kick things off is likely due to Kang the Conqueror. Unlike Yellowjacket and Ghost, Kang appears to leave a lasting impact on the Ant-Man characters and the wider MCU moving forward. Kang is already confirmed to return for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (obviously) and will likely star in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives in theaters on February 17, 2023.
Source: Empire