Posted in: Avengers, Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: ant man and the wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, film, HRL, marvel

Why Ant-Man and the Wasp Is the Perfect Movie to Follow Avengers: Infinity War [SPOILERS]

Published Tue, 01 May 2018 10:50:03 -0500

As the dust settles with Avengers: Infinity War, it's time to start looking ahead. However, to get into why the next Marvel movie is the perfect movie to follow Infinity War we need to get into spoilers. The ending is the thing that everyone is talking about when it comes to this movie, and it plays an important part in why Ant-Man and the Wasp is the great movie to follow Infinity War. That means it's time for some big spoilers — so if you haven't seen the movie yet, you might want to check out another article.

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To understand why Ant-Man and the Wasp is the perfect movie to follow Avengers: Infinity War, we have to go back to 2015. It's the mid-summer of 2015 and Marvel fans are feeling a little on edge. Avengers: Age of Ultron is fine, but it does have some problems without the novelty of seeing the team together for the first time that the first movie had. It was overstuffed, and some weren't entirely happy with the movie.

However, then July rolled around and Ant-Man came into theaters. It was the first Marvel movie in a long time that felt like a throwback to the first phase of movies. It was an origin story, and the stakes were small. They were personal instead of the world being at stake and much more character-driven than Age of Ultron. It was funny and breezy compared to the overly self-serious Age of Ultron. It cleared the way and reminded everyone why they loved these movies in the first place.

We can now flash forward to the present day and the fallout from Avengers: Infinity War — a movie with a high body count and one that ended with half of our heroes falling to ash before our eyes. We saw Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, fall to his knees with an "oh god," as he realized that Thanos had won. The emotional reactions from fans have been extreme, with people all weekend saying how hard the movie hit them. Fans want to know what happens next — but they have a year to wait. They also have two Marvel movies between Infinity War and Avengers 4, and some are wondering if releasing Ant-Man and the Wasp next was a mistake.

There were people wondering the same thing when the first Ant-Man came out, and this sequel is poised to do the same thing as the original: it's a palate cleanser. This summer is looking even more packed than the summer of 2015 did, and by July a good portion of us are going to be exhausted by the sheer amount of blockbuster movies that have been released. There are going to be plenty of still reeling from having to watch Okoye witness T'Challa fade away or Tony Stark holding Peter Parker as he dematerializes.

Now it's time for Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, and Luis to step in and remind us that while there is darkness, there is also light. All seems lost right now, but here is a reason to smile, to laugh, to remember that while we were just put through the emotional ringer there is a reason we keep coming back to these movies: they make us happy.

While Captain Marvel also comes out before Avengers 4, the post-credits scene means that her movie is going to set up the events of Avengers 4 so she can be a major player. The events of Ant-Man and the Wasp hardly look so grandiose. In fact the entire movie takes place before Infinity War, so one could argue the events of the movie might be largely meaningless overall.

And that's fine. There is no reason we can't have a fun little filler movie in between our world-ending movies. While we all want to see what happens next with the Infinity Stones and Thanos, releasing Avengers 4 right away would be a mistake. It would be too much doom, too much gloom, and the stakes wouldn't feel as high. As it is, Infinity War's ending already falls a little flat by the knowledge that Spider-Man has a sequel coming out and Disney wouldn't kill Black Panther after he made a billion dollars. The buildup to Avengers 4 is going to make the movie all the better to watch, and having a little fun with Scott and Hope and Luis is the perfect way to fill in some of that time.

We have a summer blockbuster season that is just kicking off, and between now and Ant-Man and the Wasp we have some major blockbusters including Deadpool 2, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. There isn't a better way to wash down the insanity of the summer than with a bunch of shapeshifting jokes and Evangeline Lilly kicking the crap out of everyone.

Summary: As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, directed by Peyton Reed, stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Hannah John-Kamen, Michael Douglas, and Michael Peña. It will be released on July 6th.

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