The first trailer for the follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War has arrived.
One thing we've all been wondering is what role, exactly, Ant-Man will play in all of
this.
Let's break out our microscopes for a close look at how things seem to be shaping up for
Ant-Man in Avengers: Endgame.
Infinity War already assembled a staggering cast of characters, but Endgame will finally
mark Scott Lang's entrance to the two-part arc.
He's been busy at home, honing his drum skills and building sweet cardboard slides with his
daughter.
The end of his house arrest was marked not by a reunion with the Avengers, but by a desperate
quest to rescue Janet van Dyne from the Quantum Realm and stop some dangerous tech from falling
into the wrong hands.
It's no wonder he was too busy to show up for Infinity War's many battles.
The end credit scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp showed us that Lang was caught in the Quantum
Realm when half of humanity was dusted - including, seemingly, the only people who could get him
out - making him one of the less fortunate among the survivors.
The Endgame trailer shows us Bruce Banner looking at images of Lang, Peter Parker, and
even Shuri, all of whom were not "in plain sight" when the snap took place.
The scene seems to imply that thanks to Lang's miniature predicament, the survivors think
he, too, disintegrated with the others.
That, combined with the last scene in the trailer, where Black Widow and Captain America
see Lang show up at the front door of the Avengers HQ facility, would make Lang's survival
not just a happy relief, but very likely an integral part of the plot.
For a long while now, fans have theorized that time travel will be a factor in undoing
the last moments of Infinity War.
Of course, the Russo Brothers have made it clear that the MCU hasn't built up a ten-year,
20-movie universe just to have their heroes quickly crank back the clock and save the
day.
There are going to be casualties here, regardless of what happens, but that doesn't take away
the fact that time travel could still be pivotal in saving the day - and Scott Lang will probably
bring some newfound time travel expertise with him.
"Can you buzz me in?"
Savvy MCU fans may remember something Janet Van Dyne told Scott near the very end of Ant-Man
and the Wasp, just before he jumped into the Quantum Realm:
"And don't get sucked into a time vortex.
We won't be able to save you."
Doctor Strange relinquished the Time Stone to Thanos and then got himself dusted for
the trouble.
Scarlet Witch, likewise, ceased to exist at the end of Infinity War - and with those two
reality-warping characters off the table, that leaves Lang to provide whatever time
travel expertise he can to the Avengers.
Since he somehow managed to escape the Quantum Realm despite the Pym family's disappearance,
it stands to reason that he's got some knowledge to drop.
Another crucial part of using the Quantum Realm for time travel?
Equipment.
You don't just click your heels together and wish you were there.
It takes a massive array of specially-made suits, fancy buttons and levers, and a lab
that - even in the back of a van - looks rather intimidating to run.
Ant-Man's got the keys to the Ant-Van, a piece of equipment that could turn out to be just
as important in the fight against Thanos as Thor's mighty weapon Stormbreaker.
At the end of the day, no matter how bad things get, we're talking about Ant-Man here.
Paul Rudd radiates humor, and the MCU Scott Lang persona has been crafted to accommodate
this.
The results have been one of Marvel's chief sources of unrestricted comic relief regardless
of the situation, which is precisely why the Ant-Man movies have been so lighthearted.
Having such an effortlessly funny character involved in a story like Endgame may be an
even greater relief than we imagined.
Infinity War was already an intense ride, even with the Guardians' attitudes, Tony Stark's
sharp dialogue, and Peter Parker's nervous banter helping to relieve the tension.
"I'm Peter by the way.”
"Doctor Strange."
"Oh, we're using made up names.
Um, I'm Spider-Man, then.”
But now, most of those characters are either out of the picture or in no mood for quips,
and it may fall to Mr. Lang to bail out the tone with some quick wit and humor, very likely
to the relief of us all.
Finally, we have an easily-overlooked little conclusion that supports the importance of
Ant-Man in Endgame - the fact that the trailer ends with him front and center.
If Lang was just another pawn on the chessboard keeping the game in motion, Marvel probably
would have just popped in a split second shot of him on the security camera in front of
the Avengers' HQ.
But instead, they not only devoted plenty of time to his appearance, they put it at
the trailer's end, in a place of cinematic honor.
The end of a good trailer should serve as a powerful, attention-grabbing cliffhanger,
where a movie's marketing department drop an idea they want to leave you pondering while
you wait for the final product.
It's usually in these final moments that trailers tip their hand as they try to leave a trail
of breadcrumbs that will guide people straight to the theater on opening night.
Did it work?
We know we'll be there.