'Ant-Man' Credits Scenes Explained: What Do They Mean For Future Marvel Movies?
Ant-Man is a pretty unique Marvel movie in a lot of ways, but one of the ways it's just like all the others are the end-credits sequences. Ant-Man has two, and both seem to have some pretty big implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But in following with the grand tradition of Marvel credits scenes, they might be more confusing than intriguing to those who aren't so well versed in Marvel mythos. So after the jump, we'll break down exactly what the Ant-Man credits scenes are, and what they mean.
As common sense would suggest, spoilers follow for Ant-Man.
Ant-Man Credits Explained: Scene #1
What's the Scene?
Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) ushers his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) into a secret chamber to reveal a never-before-seen suit. He reveals that he and her mother Janet were working on the suit before she perished, and that he's finally realized they were making it for Hope. She smiles and responds, "It's about damn time."
What Does It Mean?
The first Ant-Man end credits sequence is a direct payoff to a subplot running through the entire movie. Throughout much of the first act, Hope resents Hank for choosing Scott over her to wear the Ant-Man suit – even though, as she repeatedly points out, she's much more familiar with the technology, the target, and the mission than Scott is.
Eventually she realizes Hank's refusal to let her become the Ant-Man is an act of love and self-preservation. He lost Janet on a mission where she was accompanying him as the Wasp (in her own Ant-Man-like uniform), and won't risk losing his daughter as well. But his showing her the suit suggests he's come around, and her smile indicates she's pretty pleased about that.
Where Is This Going?
Look for Janet to suit up as the Wasp in the not-too-distant future. Ant-Man is Lilly's only confirmed Marvel movie so far, but (like most of the actors involved with the franchise) she's contracted for multiple pictures. Perhaps she'll cameo in Civil War, or get involved in Avengers: Infinity War.
Assuming Lilly does become the Wasp, this is a departure from the comics. There, Janet Van Dyne is the Wasp, and a founding member of the Avengers to boot. Hope only exists in one of Marvel Comics' alternate timelines, and becomes a supervillain (the Red Queen) rather than a superhero.
***
Learn all about the other Ant-Man credits scene on the next page.
Ant-Man Credits Explained: Scene #2
What's the Scene?
Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon (Anthony Mackie) are in a warehouse-like room. It's revealed that they've found Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the former Winter Soldier, who seems to have his arm stuck in some kind of contraption.
(Remember, Bucky is Steve's best friend turned brainwashed HYDRA assassin, who's run away and is struggling to remember his past. Steve and Sam set out to look for him at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and are still searching during Avengers: Age of Ultron.)
Sam wonders if they should call Tony Stark / Iron Man, but Steve immediately rejects the notion. It's suggested that they can't call any of the other Avengers, either. Steve says they're on their own, but Sam has an idea: "I know a guy." The screen fades to black with a promise in writing that "Ant-Man Will Return."
What Does It Mean?
It's not clear why Steve and Sam can't call the Avengers. We know that the next Marvel adventure, Captain America: Civil War, involves a rift between Captain America and Iron Man. So it could be that this scene takes place after their differences have come to light, or perhaps that Bucky is one of the many things that tear the two superheroes apart.
In any case, the "guy" Sam mentions is clearly Scott Lang, whom he met earlier in the Ant-Man movie when Scott tried to steal a device from Avengers HQ. We don't know yet how Cap and Falcon might make use of Ant-Man's unique powers, but for now it seems one of his big selling points is that he's still a relatively off-the-radar hero. The other Avengers likely know very little about him, if they're aware he exists at all.
Where Is This Going?
The second Ant-Man end credits sequence reads like a Captain America: Civil War scene for a reason — it is one. Marvel head Kevin Feige confirmed that we'll see this scene, or some version of it, in the upcoming film:
Yes, you will. It might be different takes, it might be different angles. Somebody brought up the comparison to the Thor tag at the end of Iron Man 2, which was material shot for the Thor film but we cut slightly differently.
The scene sets up Scott's return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War, which isn't exactly a shocker — Paul Rudd was announced as part of the cast some time ago. Still, it sheds some light on exactly how Scott might get roped into the Avengers' internal conflicts in Civil War.