Marvel boss Kevin Feige has revealed why Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was chosen to kick off the MCU's Phase 5.
Phase 4 of the MCU ended with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever while Paul Rudd's Ant-Man was picked above the likes of Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy to lead the line into the MCU's next phase.
In an interview with Empire, Feige explained why Ant-Man deserved that special status after two previous outings that, while well-received, did not possess the status of an Iron Man or Spider-Man movie.
Related: Marvel boss talks Ant-Man 3 villain's motivations
"We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he’d earned that position," Feige 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."
Ant-Man 3 is set to launch the MCU into a new stratosphere with the inclusion of Jonathan Majors' returning villain Kang the Conqueror (MODOK will also appear!).
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In the same Empire interview, writer Jeff Loveness said that the first thoughts around Ant-Man 3 were making it into an Avengers-level event.
"The first discussion we had was, ‘What if Ant-Man is accidentally in an Avengers movie by himself?" Loveness said.
Meanwhile, director Peyton Reed acknowledged that Scott Lang (AKA Ant-Man) is now facing significantly bigger threats than the likes of San Francisco's Sonny Burch. Instead, Ant-Man is facing off against the MCU's biggest villain yet in a multiversal threat.
"We’re not running around the streets of San Francisco anymore. 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," Reed said.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has a February 17 release date.
