The previous two Ant-Man films, released in 2015 and 2018 respectively, were relatively low-stakes, standalone adventures – among the least vital MCU films in terms of furthering the franchise's overarching plot.

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But that is most certainly not the case with the third movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which has now arrived in UK cinemas to kickstart Phase 5 of the MCU project.

While not devoid of the more light-hearted hijinks present in the first two movies, it also has a huge role to play when it comes to setting up future films, especially in that it gives us a proper introduction to the new big bad: Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conquerer.

But just how does the film set up upcoming movies like Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars? Read on for everything you need to know, with the warning that there are major spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ahead.

How does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania set up Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars?

On the face of it, it might seem a little early to be looking ahead to Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars at this juncture: the films aren't slated for release until May 2025 and May 2026 respectively, and there are another seven MCU films already scheduled for release before then, not to mention countless TV projects.

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But there can be no denying that some major plot points leading up to those films are introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as we head into a new phase of the MCU and delve deeper into the Multiverse Saga.

Specifically, these plot points have to do with Kang the Conqueror, the new villain played by Jonathan Majors. A variant of Kang – who is a well-known character to comic book readers – had previously made a brief appearance in the Loki season 1 finale, but this serves as our proper introduction to him.

Loki
Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains/Kang in Loki. Disney Plus

During the events of the film, we learn that this Kang has been exiled to the Quantum Realm by a number of other Kang variants, as he had been considered so dangerous even by their standards. However, by the end of the film, Kang has been killed by Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne – kicked into the Multiversal Engine of his own ship as it collapses.

Rather than being the end of the Kang threat, however, this pretty much serves as an inciting incident for the rest of this storyline. In a mid-credits scene, we are introduced to the Council of Kangs, led by a variant named Immortus who outlines that the Avengers are now posing a major threat to them by constantly meddling with the multiverse.

We then find that – spurred on by the death of the exiled variant – he has called a meeting of all the other Kangs (enough to fill a pretty massive Colosseum) as they begin to plot their revenge against the Avengers.

So it seems that we will be seeing different variants pop up in assorted MCU projects from now on – including Victor Timely in Loki season 2 and a Skrull variant in Secret Invasion – presumably all leading up to an epic battle in Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.

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