Ant-Man & the Wasp is kind of a big deal. The movie is the 20th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's actually the first to feature a female hero's name in the title. As ridiculously overdue as that is, the Wasp has proven to be worth the wait, and fans already can't wait to see the character on the big screen again. And luckily they won't have to, because the Wasp will be in Avengers 4 next year, where she will presumably team up with the remaining Avengers to take on Thanos and reverse the horrific ending of Avengers: Infinity War.
And her appearance can't come soon enough. In fact, if the Wasp had been around to battle Thanos during Infinity War, then the Titan's fateful snap never would have even happened — at least according to Evangeline Lilly, who plays the Wasp. "As far as taking down Thanos, all you really needed was the Wasp," Lilly told Nerdist's Markeia McCarty. "Because if she had been there, she could have shrunk and flown into his ear and punched a hole in his brain and he would have been dead, instantly. But nobody invited me to the party." That may be a bit too hardcore for an Avengers movie, but hey, all bets are off for Avengers 4.
In addition to potentially punching a hole in Thanos' brain in Avengers 4, the Wasp is also expected to team up with Marvel's other new superheroine, Captain Marvel, in the film. Brie Larson will first debut as Captain Marvel in the MCU's next film, Captain Marvel, which will shatter another barrier as the first MCU film where a female hero gets the title all to herself. And the two trailblazing actresses apparently bonded on the Avengers 4 set in real life, Lilly revealed in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, suggesting that they may share a number of scenes together.
Before teaming up with her new BFF though, the Wasp will also be accompanied by her current partner in crime, err, heroics, Ant-Man. Ant-Man is going to be in Avengers 4, and some rumors suggest that he may even play a key role in a time travel-centric plot that makes him a founding Avenger. And if that's the case, then hopefully the Wasp gets that treatment, too because both of these characters should have joined the Avengers a long time ago.
In the MCU, the founding members of the Avengers who united to stop Loki are Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, and Hawkeye. But in the comics, it was a different lineup. Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man were all founding members, but Cap, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were not. In their place were, you guessed it, Ant-Man and the Wasp. But it wasn't Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, it was actually Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. These characters are part of an older generation in the movies, acting as the original Ant-Man and Wasp long before the Avengers assembled, but in the comics they're of the same vintage as their fellow Avengers.
The Wasp is one of the most important Avengers of all time from the comics, and it's about time that she gets a chance to join the team in the movies as well. And before purists can cry that it's not Janet van Dyne suiting up in the movie, well, there's a chance that she might show up in Avengers 4, too, along with Hank Pym. In an interview with The Independent, Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes) revealed that he filmed a scene for the movie that included both Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet) and Michael Douglas (Hank), meaning that both of these comics-original Avengers may finally appear on screen in an Avengers film.
Avengers 4 is going to feature a lot of heroes, and the Wasp is definitely one of the most exciting. In addition to her apparent willingness to punch brains, she's also an original Avenger from the comics, and fans have been waiting a long time to see her get to wear that label on the big screen.
