When Oscar-nominated film icon Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as the original Wasp, aka Janet van Dyne, in Ant-Man and The Wasp a certain aura of expectation began to form. Surely Marvel wouldn’t waste one of modern cinema’s most celebrated stars on a bit part, relegated to a merely supportive role with barely any screen time. This, after all, is the very actress who brought forth, arguably, the most iconic portrayal of Selina Kyle/Catwoman thus far for Tim Burton’s celebrated 1992 sequel, Batman Returns.
Surely they wouldn’t waste the opportunity to bring forth another such performance. But, alas, when Ant-Man and The Wasp opened in theaters in 2018, that’s exactly what was delivered. Was this intentional or was it merely another Kevin Feige clever rouse to keep audiences oblivious of what’s to come? More importantly, are the secrets of Janet’s time in the quantum realm far more consequential to the MCU than we’ve been led to believe?
30 Years is a Long Time to Be Alone
At the end of the original Ant-Man, we discover that it is indeed possible to travel into the quantum realm and come back, a notion that was dispelled by Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym as a warning to Scott, relaying the tragedy that befell his wife thirty years prior. This led to the belief that Janet was still alive down there. This was of course proven to be true in the sequel and even as Janet was rescued, her return to the normal world brought forth more questions than answers.
As I’ve stated, thirty years is an awfully long time to be alone. The consequences of prolonged loneliness have long been documented in terms of how it affects both body and mental health. Chronic loneliness is known to cause anxiety, depression, and emotional distress. Yet Janet showcased none of these issues.
Now, readers might be saying something to the tune of, “well, when Scott was down there for five years, he said it only felt like 5 hours..” And they’d be correct, he did say that. However, there are some stark differences in the experiences of Scott and Janet. The most prominent being Janet having clearly aged thirty years while Scott hadn’t aged a day. What set their experiences apart so drastically that Janet aged in real time? Might that be because she wasn’t solely in the quantum realm that whole time? We do know from stills that there is intelligent life in the quantum realm, but who/what are they?
As was stated in the films, Janet van Dyne is a brilliant scientist and that shouldn’t be discounted as a contributing factor to her survival, but even her vast intelligence couldn’t have possibly prepared her for everything she was bound to face. Janet returned from the quantum realm virtually unscathed, mentally intact, and with superpowers to boot. Simply put, there is more evidence than not that Janet had help during her time down there and for one reason or more, she hasn’t been forthcoming about any of it.
Is There a Connection to Kang?
Given Kang’s involvement with the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, there’s legitimate reason to suspect he has a connection to these heroes. His arrival likely bringing a potentially darker storyline to the threequel in a franchise that’s been relatively more comedic and light in comparison to some of the other MCU entries.
Janet spent a great deal of time learning the secrets of the quantum realm, even showcasing some knowledge about the place that likely went unnoticed by audiences as the credit was ultimately given to Scott Lang in Avengers: Endgame. During the post-credits sequence, just before Thanos snapped Janet, Hope, and Hank from existence, Janet made a candid comment to Scott about getting trapped in a time vortex and how, if he had, they wouldn’t be able to save him. Now, on the other hand, this may be something Janet van Dyne was able to sort out on her own but I find that explanation to be highly unlikely. How could Janet know the consequences of a time vortex, let alone their existence at all, without having experienced it for herself? The obvious conclusion is that she didn’t or else she would’ve, by her own assessment, never been rescued from the quantum realm.
It’s no secret at this point that Kang’s abilities deal mainly with time travel, with strong theories even suggesting he’s somehow taken over the Time Variance Authority from Marvel’s latest Disney+ series, Loki. Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors, the actor cast in the role of Kang, has been playing coy lately about a potential appearance in Loki during its six episode run, though nothing has been confirmed. Given his connection to time travel and to the properties associated with the quantum realm, might there be enough evidence to suggest Kang was partially or even largely responsible for Janet’s survival and intricate knowledge of the quantum realm? And is it possible that the city seen in the quantum realm is actually the location of the Time Variance Authority? Using Owen Wilson’s Agent Morbius’ own words, “time works a little differently here”. Sounds familiar.
Clues Regarding Janet’s Future
During press events for Ant-Man and The Wasp, director Peyton Reed made it perfectly clear he was in no way allowed to speak about Janet van Dyne’s future with the MCU. Now, this is a fairly common practice for people involved with Marvel properties, but that doesn’t make it any less intriguing to suggest that perhaps Janet’s future is far more important to the MCU as it moves further away from the Infinity Saga.
Reed also mentioned there were at one time, discussions about Janet van Dyne being the villain for the sequel that was ultimately scrapped in favor of Walton Goggins’ Sonny Birch and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost. This doesn’t hold as much weight as the other contributing factors, but it does make me wonder if the reason this idea was scrapped was that Marvel and Kevin Feige are planning to surprise audiences with the reveal that Janet has been working with Kang the entire time.
A (Not So) Fantastic Theory
Others have theorized that Janet van Dyne may have come across Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four and that they were potentially responsible for aiding in her survival. The problem with this theory also stems from Janet’s lack of full disclosure. If this was the case, especially given the nature of it, what reason would Janet van Dyne have for not being 100% forthright about her encounter? It’s also important to mention that we have yet to learn anything concrete about Marvel’s upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four so there’s virtually no way of knowing if this theory holds anything other than a single grain of salt.
The third entry in the Ant-Man franchise is still over a year away and there’s still plenty of time to theorize what might happen during the events of that film and whether Janet will reveal the whole truth. It would be a mistake for Marvel to simply gloss over these questions as they’re worth exploring and audiences are definitely owed a thorough explanation. Given Feige’s dedication to these films, the chance of these questions going unanswered is slim, though I wouldn’t totally count out Marvel, and Feige betting audiences are more than satiated with what she did reveal upon her rescue from the quantum realm.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently shooting and is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2023, as part of Marvel’s Phase Four. It boasts an all-star cast that includes returning stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Micheal Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer, with new additions Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.
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