'Ant-Man and the Wasp': 7 Questions Raised by the Trailer

When Does the Film Take Place?

Ant-Man and the Wasp may be coming out a few months after Avengers: Infinity War, but it actually takes place before the events of that film.

Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place in the period after Captain America: Civil War and before Avengers: Infinity War -- the same period in which the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther also take place. While Evangeline Lily's Wasp won't appear in Infinity War, she will be in Avengers 4.

Where Have Hope and Hank Been?

This trailer makes it clear that Scott Lang's decision to fight in the MCU Civil War had major fallout consequences for Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily).

So where have Hope and Hank been since Scott was arrested for aiding Captain America? On the run, while trying to complete some crucial research. As we heard months ago, Hank and Hope are working out of a mobile research facility (that shrinking building in the trailer), trying to find a way to possibly save Janet van Dyne from The Quantum Realm. While they wanted Scott's help with that goal, the events of Civil War disrupted those plans...

Who Is Laurence Fishburne Playing?

The trailer gives us a fleeting glimpse at Laurence Fishburne in the film, which may have surprised a lot of casual viewers. So who is Fishburne playing in the MCU? None other than Dr. Bill Foster!

Marvel fans recognize the name: Foster was a biochemist who became the second Giant-Man and fourth Goliath after ingesting a formula of Pym Particles. In the MCU, he's an old friend / research assistant of Hank Pym; his connection to Pym's superhero past, and own superhero status, have yet to be revealed.

Who Is the Villain?

There's only one brief shot of an ominous-looking villain in the trailer -- but who is it? Marvel Comics fans quickly recognized this latest MCU adaptation: Ghost, the villain who first appeared as an '80s Iron Man villain, but got something of a resurgence in the '00s, as a part of the "Dark Reign" era of the Thunderbolts.

Ghost has a mysterious identity and origin, hinted to be a former IT worker who was somehow screwed over by corporate greed and instead became an anti-corporate saboteur and hacker, with a suit that grants the abilities of invisibility, intangibility, and other advanced stealth tech. In the comics, Ghost is a guy, but the MCU version is a girl, played by Game of Thrones actress Hannah John-Kamen.

How Does Janet van Dyne Fit Into the Story?

This first trailer doesn't provide a look at Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, but she certainly factors into the story in major way.

Ant-Man and the Wasp will delve more into Hank Pym's career as Ant-Man in the 1980s, and how he lost Janet (the original Wasp) to the Quantum Realm. In the present, Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne are trying to search for Janet, having been given hope (no pun intended) by Scott's return from the Quantum Realm in the first film. The question that could have major impact on Avengers 4 is: what will Janet's return reveal about the Quantum Realm?

What is that Cellular World?

A big action sequence that's teased during the trailer (in broken-up segments) is "Team Ant-Man" boarding some kind of ship or vessel that is miniaturized to cellular size and launched some kind of cellular terrain.

The question at hand is: where is this cellular space, and what is Team Ant-Man trying to accomplish? This seems to be a major set piece of the film, so the mission must be a crucial one.

Are There Any Infinity War Connections?

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are always looking for connections and teasers that one film may have for upcoming movies and storylines in the shared universe - so are there any to spot, here?

Since Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place before the events of Avengers: Infinity War, there are not really any connections to be made - at least not from this first teaser. As previously stated, the real connection will be what Ant-Man and Wasp's exploration of the Quantum Realm reveals about the sub-atomic universe - and its potential to defeat Thanos in Avengers 4.

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Were there any MCU secrets or Easter eggs that you spotted in the Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer? Let us know @ComicBookNOW!

Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16th. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.