‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Tie to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Was Almost Very Different

As the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to hit theaters after Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp was expected to have a tie to the devastating events in the third Avengers film and it didn’t disappoint. It just turns out that the connection was almost very different than what ultimately made it to screen.

Warning: SPOILERs for Ant-Man and the Wasp below.

Set as a direct follow up to Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp didn’t address Thanos’ population slashing finger snap until post-credits scenes with Hank (Michael Douglas), Hope (Evangeline Lilly), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) turning to dust largely offscreen — audiences see the dust where the trio once stood while a confused Scott (Paul Rudd) worriedly awaits them retrieving him from the Quantum Realm. But according to director Peyton Reed, “The Snappening” nearly took place during the film’s main action.

“We talked about it, you know, how we were going to introduce the ramifications of Infinity War in our movie, and along the way, we had a bunch of different ideas,” Reed told GameSpot. “Some were more bleak, and some were things happening in the background of this movie.”

It’s hard to imagine what Ant-Man and the Wasp would have looked like had The Snappening occurred in the middle rather than the end of the film. While the movie itself had some serious moments — finding out Ghost’s origin and why she was after Hank’s lab was a bit somber — the bulk of the film was humorous with plenty of jokes and action. That tone would have been largely impossible in a world shattered by half of the population turning to dust.

Ultimately, the film did give audiences a taste of what a post-Infinity War world looks like. A second post-credits scene gave a quick look inside Scott’s house with the Emergency Alert System blaring over the television, the streets silent, and a giant ant playing the drums, completely oblivious to the half-end of the world around him. It was a chilling note to close the experience on, and according to Reed was one that everyone involved got really excited about.

“We finally landed on this idea, you know, the version that you saw, and structurally, we all got really excited about it, to have the tone of Ant-Man or Ant-Man and the Wasp, and still be able to sort of acknowledge Infinity War in a way,” Reed said.

Fans will have to wait until Avengers 4 hits theaters next year to see how it all plays out from there.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theaters now.

What did you think of the Avengers: Infinity War-connected scenes in Ant-Man and the Wasp? Let us know in comments!