Ant-Man 3 Writer Defends Film's Divisive Ending

By Adam Barnhardt

By now it's well-known Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania isn't the most-liked film in the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Peyton Reed film is now just the second of the franchise to earn a "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its box office appears to have suffered a franchise-worst drop between its opening and second weekends. On top of it all, the film ends in such a manner it's been a sticking point in most debates, though Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness still stands by it.

"I kind of love the ending that we landed on," the writer said in a recent interview with Fandom. "I hear what people are saying but I feel if you just strand Ant-Man in the Quantum Realm again, that is exactly what happened at the end of the second movie, and the way out of it is exactly what happens in Endgame."

In the ending, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his family manage to kill Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), before escaping the Quantum Realm for our reality. The movie then ends with a mid-credits scene showing the rest of the Kang variants, such as Immortus and Rama-Tut, across the multiverse getting together and agreeing to avenge Prime Kang's death. 

"Personally, for our heroes, I like the idea that at the beginning of the movie, Scott is literally an open book. He's told his story to the world through his book. And it's the other members of the family that are keeping secrets from him," Reed added.

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He continued. "Janet is keeping secrets about the Quantum Realm and what her life was like down there. Hope and Hank are keeping secrets from Scott about what they've been working on with Cassie in the basement. Cassie has been keeping secrets from her dad about 'Oh, you were in jail before? What?' So everyone's keeping secrets from Scott and then you wind up at the end of the movie and everybody's secrets are out. Except now Scott has a secret. And it's this self doubt about whether he's actually vanquished Kang. That seemed like a cool structure."

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now in theaters. What'd you think of the latest entry in the Ant-Man franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

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