Kevin Feige Chose Ant-Man To Lead Off The MCU's Phase 5 Because He 'Earned' It

Despite being a founding member of the Avengers in the comics, Ant-Man has rarely been viewed as one of the major players in the Marvel Universe. Though the size-shifting hero has been involved in some of the most memorable storylines in superhero history, many feel that he's not exactly on the same level as Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Panther, or a number of his other teammates. This mentality carried over when the character made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That's not to say that Scott Lang's adventures haven't been great. Paul Rudd's pint-sized powerhouse might have one of the most fun franchises in the entire MCU. It's also one of the most self-contained corners of this world as well, so it might not be as daunting for new fans to digest. However, this is all about to change with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

After appearing in "Loki" as a variant of the character, Jonathan Majors makes his theatrical debut as Kang the Conqueror in Peyton Reed's third outing for the House of Ideas. And since we already know that he's in line to be the next big bad to take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the upcoming "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty," the legendary villain's appearance in this film will be central to the future of the MCU.

But one question remains: Why is Ant-Man the first Avenger to mix it up with Kang? Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently weighed in with the answer.

As True Believers anxiously await the next Marvel feature film, the latest issue of Empire Magazine features an exciting cover story about "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." In the article, Kevin Feige discusses what makes Scott Lang the ideal candidate to step up to Kang first. Basically, what the architect of the MCU says is that the character deserves it. Feige explains:

"We wanted to kick off Phase Five with Ant-Man because he'd earned that position. To not simply be the back-up or the comic relief, but to take his position at the front of the podium of the MCU."

Outside of his own movies, Lang has certainly filled the roles of back-up and comic relief masterfully, especially in "Captain America: Civil War." With Paul Rudd's comedic expertise and natural charisma, it's hard for Ant-Man not to be those things. Although, an argument can be made that he's constantly Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym's back-up, but that's not important. After joining forces with Cap and a trip to the Quantum Realm to save Janet Van Dyne, he played an incredibly integral part in the defeat of Thanos the next time we saw him standing alongside the Avengers. Peyton Reed, Feige, and company know this and they're ready to show that it's Ant-Man's time to step up.

But now the question is whether or not he can handle that. Have you seen Majors' transformation ahead of this role? Sam Wilson's favorite Tic Tac is potentially about to get chewed up and spit out by one of the mightiest warriors from all of space and time. We'll find out either way very soon.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, and Jonathan Majors. It reaches theaters on February 17, 2023.