Post-Credits Scenes "Ant-Man and Wasp" Explained

[Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead for both “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and its post-credits scenes.]

"Ant-Man and the Wasp," Peyton Reed's second film about the youngest and youngest heroes in the galaxy, works pretty well alone – that's the kind of fun story and Sparkling that the film universe of Marvel has long been known for, but dragged into a post-world "Infinity War", it feels positively cool. Staying away from the story of "Infinity War" as long as possible was also a priority for Reed, who chose to stay away from this kind of material to tell his own story. But even Reed could not avoid the impact of "Infinity War" forever, and it's within the confines of the two post-generic scenes of the film that "Ant-Man and the Wasp" address the Elephant Thanos in the room. But first, a quick recovery of what is happening in "Ant-Man and the Wasp", at least enough to give proper context to a pair of scenes that are both inevitable and heartbreaking. Reed's film takes over two years after the events of "Captain America: Civil War", just as Scott Lang (AKA Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd) is almost done serving his mandatory house arrest for his part in the madness which was "Civil War." He came out of the superhero biz for good (or so it seems) and eager to return to the world.

Scott's house arrest also removed both Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), who were occupied in the temporary building something of Crazy: a quantum tunnel, conceived in hope can shrink enough to save Hope's mother, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), that they now believe alive after Scott's can to be spotted-kinda-went out there. It's a nutty idea – they've always believed that no one can survive in the Quantum Kingdom – but Scott's experience has shrunk and then come back to full size inspired them. But they need Scott to find Janet, because Hank and Hope believe that the original Wasp has embedded some kind of map in his brain, and that's the only way to find it.

Meanwhile, the mysterious Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) is also keen that Janet be removed from the Quantum domain, because Ghost believes that it will be infused with quantum particles that can help heal Ghost, who has was hurt by a quantum breath while she was only a child. All these stories – and more! – Converge for the very happy ending of the movie: Janet being saved, Ghost being healed by his touch, and everyone getting together for what seems like a perfectly connected conclusion. Of course, it is an end that takes place just while the events of the "Infinite War" are about to unfold. You know what it means: on post-generic scenes.

Here's what they are and how they relate in the rest of the MCU.

[One more time: Spoilers ahead for both “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and its post-credits scenes.]

1. Another visit to Quantum Kingdom

Reed had already told IndieWire of the executive error that led to the creation of the mid-credits scene, one full of fun elements who do not reveal yet what awaits them. First, there is Hank and Janet – casual sportswear! – On the roof of a large building in San Francisco, obviously on the verge of looking for superheroes. Then, there is still this quantum tunnel, now narrowed to integrate perfectly in the van of Luis (Michael Pena, who does not appear in the scene), to better take the road of the Quantum Realm. And they're not alone, either, because Hope is here, and Scott too, wearing his Ant-Man suit.

It's nice to see them all together, and even better once you realize that they are about to leave on some kind of mission. At least, Scott jumps into the tunnel, which brings him back to subatomic size and brings him back to Quantum Realm, where he is tasked with picking up other quantum particles for "our friend Ghost." So, Ghost is alive, well, and keep in touch with Scott and the Pym / van Dyne family, while they seem to be exploring further the possibilities of the Kingdom and the particles that are there. What a pleasure!

And then, that's not it.

Scott, has finished gathering his particles, radios to Hope, Hank and Janet. There is silence. While Scott floats alone in the Quantum Kingdom, the scene moves back to the roof, where the only things that move are different particles: the post-Thanos cliché remains of the trio. Yes, this event of "infinite war" took place just, 1945, Thanos erasing half of the universe with a literal slam of his fleshy hand, taking Hope, Hank and Janet and leaving Scott not only alone , but only in Quantum Realm, where he knows nothing of what is unfolding around him.

2. The New World Order

Yes, it's a pretty dark way to finish the movie, but Reed finds the space to bridge the gap between the movie's fun and the tearing of the mid-credit scene with his second post-credit. . At the beginning of the film, Hope replaced Scott with a giant ant, charged with wearing her ankle monitoring bracelet and evaluating her home routine while he and Hope started having Janet. The ant, it seems, is still in Scott's possession, and after the snap, she is busy playing Scott's drum kit and usually has a good time. It's a lighter way to finish the movie, but it does not totally fear what's happening on the outside because the camera slows the pans through the apartment to reveal a television that plays the signal of urgency. This is our first real look at post-Thanos life, an existence that has already been thrown into such chaos that even presenters are not on the screen to discuss. It's bad.

Bonus: A dubious tease

MCU films generally end with a last promise, a last dart that talks about the fate of the heroes in its center. See a movie "Thor", and you'll get a line of text: "Thor will come back", and so on. At the end of "Infinity War", things got a little worse, the last line not being dedicated to the syndicate of superheroes, but to Thanos, reading "Thanos will come back". Oh, great! Was really concerned about him.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" does better, by reading first, "Ant-Man and the Bee-eater will come back". Complete stop, complete period, end … and then this period turns into a question mark. "Ant-Man and the Wasp will come back?"

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" is currently in the cinema.

Register: Stay up-to-date with the latest news from film and television! Sign up for our e-newsletters here.