Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are still reeling from the events of Avengers:
Infinity War.
Its cataclysmic climax instantly reshaped the landscape of the decade-old franchise,
and left countless questions about how Earth's Mightiest Heroes can possibly go on.
Fortunately, mere days after Infinity War's theatrical premiere, Marvel has come to our
emotional rescue with some sorely needed, lighthearted adventure in the form of Ant-Man
and the Wasp.
The story might be much smaller in scale, but it still promises to be jam-packed with
action and adventure.
While the trailer is full of big can't-miss moments … like a size-shifting car chase
and a...giant ant playing the drums? … it's also got some teeny-tiny subtle things you
might have missed.
So grab your magnifying glass as we take a closer look at the small details of the trailer
for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
When are we?
While Infinity War brings together just about every Marvel hero yet seen on-screen, there
were two conspicuous and absences: Hawkeye, and Ant-Man.
It was briefly explained in the movie that the absent Avengers had accepted a house arrest
deal with the government as a result of their outlaw activities during the events of Captain
America: Civil War.
Rather than being outlaw Avengers, Barton and Lang opted to stay close to their kids.
To lead up to the new trailer, Marvel released a cheeky video of the Infinity War stars speculating
about where Ant-Man may have been during Thanos' invasion.
The trailer does give us a hint, with Scott's daughter, Cassie, asking how long he's been
back to being Ant-Man, to which Scott replies, "not long."
We can assume, then, that it's been a while since Civil War, and that Scott Lang has been
out of action for some time.
More than that, the world we see here is obviously not yet dealing with the world-shattering
power of the Infinity Gauntlet, so it seems likely that Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place
sometime before Infinity War.
A new anthill
The cozy room where Scott and Cassie talk is one we've never seen before.
In the first Ant-Man, Scott was fresh out of prison and sharing a tiny apartment with
three fellow ex-cons, while Cassie lived comfortably with her mother, Maggie.
Cassie's old room was left in shambles after the climactic size-changing, Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-throwing
battle with Yellowjacket.
With Scott lounging in a robe and boxes still unpacked, it seems Cassie's makeshift attic
room could be in his house.
Not only does this suggest continued growth and healing in the Lang family dynamic, it
indicates that Scott has upgraded his home.
It's possible Hank Pym has taken in his protégé, since the house that doubled as Ant-Man's
headquarters was pretty spacious.
At any rate, if Scott's heroic deeds have landed him under house arrest, it's comforting
to know he's at least been confined to a nice house.
Young Avenger
Scott explains to Cassie that falling back into his Ant-Man antics "just sort of happened,"
and his enthusiastic daughter replies that she wishes she could also fight bad guys like
her dad.
Not only is this a nice father/daughter moment, it could prove to be some pretty significant
foreshadowing.
In the comics that she comes from, Cassie's wish comes true.
In the comics, a teenage Cassie Lang begins secretly experimenting with her father's stash
of Pym Particles.
Eventually, she finds she can change size just like him, though her powers are linked
to her emotional state.
She takes on the superhero name of Stature and joins the Young Avengers team.
Ant-Man and the Wasp finds actress Abby Ryder Forston returning three years after portraying
Cassie in the first Ant-Man.
Intriguingly, however, teenage actress Emma Fuhrmann has joined the cast of 2019's fourth
Avengers movie, and is rumored to also be playing Cassie alongside Forston.
Not only does this report hint at a potential time-travel solution to the problems caused
by Infinity War, it suggests that Marvel does indeed have big plans for Cassie.
X-Con
Scott's likable criminal roommates Luis, Dave, and Kurt stole the show in the first Ant-Man,
providing some of the movie's funniest moments and proving indispensable in a heist.
The new trailer reveals that in their continuing efforts to go legit, the trio has started
X-Con, a start-up home security business dedicated to using their criminal expertise to make
their clients' homes burglar-proof.
The trailer's brief glimpse of the X-Con office reassures us that just because they're legitimate
businessmen, our favorite robbers haven't forgotten how to live large.
Their workspace is classed up with a cozy aquarium and a record player accompanied by
a large collection of vinyl albums.
We wouldn't expect anything less from Luis … that guy has good taste.
"I was at a wine tasting with my cousin Ernesto.
It was mainly reds, but you know I don't like reds, man, but there was rose that saved the
day, it was delightful."
Business Brunch with Burch
While he doesn't speak in his appearance, the trailer provides our first look at Walton
Goggins as Sonny Burch, seen stealing the suitcase-sized Pym building.
It's unclear from the trailer who Burch works for or what he's after, though in the comics
he's a weapons contractor who's been allied with Ant-Man nemesis Darren Cross and Iron
Man rival Obadiah Stane.
Since both of those villains have already shown up and been dealt with in the MCU, Burch's
allegiance is anyone's guess.
What we can surmise, however, is that Hope Van Dyne tries to settle a dispute with Burch
amicably, and it doesn't go well.
A brief shot in the trailer shows the Wasp strolling calmly away from him in a restaurant,
only to crash through the establishment's kitchen moments later for a knife-throwing,
tomato-smashing fight scene.
Quantum questions
According to Luis, part of the movie's plot involves an intangible villain named Ghost,
who stole some of Hank Pym's powerful tech after he began venturing into the Quantum
Realm … also known in the comics as the Microverse.
We get a quick look at this subatomic world, and at least one of the two Ant-Men exploring
its surreal wonders in a superpowered vehicle.
This quest into the quantum space was set up in the first Ant-Man movie, with Scott
going subatomic to stop Yellowjacket.
His successful return to normal size raised some important questions for Hank, whose wife
Janet … the original Wasp … heroically sacrificed herself during the Cold War, becoming
lost in the Quantum Realm.
But as the first movie revealed, a ride to the Quantum Realm isn't necessarily one-way.
If Ant-Man and the Wasp discover a way to travel into and out of the tiny netherworld,
it could have implications for the entire MCU … perhaps even providing a way to defeat
Thanos.
Where's Janet?
The Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer continues to play coy about the arrival of a fan favorite
character to the MCU.
In the comics, Janet Van Dyne was a founding member of the Avengers, and even gave the
team their name.
As the only female member of the original lineup, the character filled an important
role in Marvel history, and fans have been waiting patiently these ten long years for
her to soar onto the silver screen.
Janet almost made it to the first Avengers movie in 2012, but that plan fell through
during rewrites.
Three years later, Ant-Man further teased Wasp fans by banishing her to the Quantum
Realm, and merely promising that her daughter Hope would eventually pick up the mantle.
We know that Michelle Pfeiffer will play Janet in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and though the new
poster features her prominently, the trailer is still saving this long-delayed debut for
later.
Or is it?
There are a couple of super-quick shots that might just hint at Janet's presence.
First, as Ant-Man drifts through the Quantum Realm, something streaks past him in a blur.
Later, Wasp can be spotted jumping into a fistfight wearing not Hope's new suit, but
what appears to be Janet's old one, as seen in the first movie's flashback.
Who is Goliath?
The trailer ends with our first introduction to Laurence Fishburne's character, Dr. Bill
Foster.
Though Fishburne was announced for the role of Foster in 2017, the trailer is our first
confirmation that the character's history as Goliath will also make it to the screen:
He mentions the name in regards to his past with Pym before getting into a bit of a size
debate with Lang.
Goliath is a name with some interesting comics lineage, having been used not only by Hank
Pym but Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, too.
In the comics, Bill Foster was introduced as Pym's lab assistant in the '60s, making
him one of Marvel's first prominent black characters.
A decade later, he would use the Pym Particles to his own advantage, becoming the third person
to fill the oversized boots of Goliath, briefly becoming known as "Black Goliath" in a self-titled
solo series.
We don't know yet whether we'll see Foster suit up as Goliath in Ant-Man and the Wasp,
but we can be sure the movie will continue to expand the history of Marvel's super-scientists.
So move over, Iron Man.
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