In the broad spectrum of Marvel Cinematic Universe stories, the Ant-Man films have always been a smaller-scale affair – in more ways than one. His 2015 debut was a shrinking-man sci-fi-heist story, while 2018’s follow-up Ant-Man And The Wasp was a family comedy with superhero trappings – a breather between Avengers: InfinityWar and Endgame. But just like Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang when he activates Giant-Man, the third Ant-Man film – Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania – is going big. Really big. Peyton Reed’s threequel isn’t just promising a trippy expedition into the Quantum Realm; it’s the beginning of the MCU’s Phase 5, a giant leap for the Multiverse Saga, and the introduction proper of Jonathan Majors’ major new villain, Kang The Conqueror – a guy who (along with his many maniacal variants) would have Thanos quaking in his gold-toed boots. Marvel’s most miniature hero is about to face the MCU’s biggest bad yet.
The upcoming issue of Empire takes a world-exclusive journey to the centre of Ant-Man’s epic new adventure – exploring why the smallest Avenger is getting a bigger, bolder, and more bonkers outing this time around; peeking into the personal stakes for the wider Pym, Lang, and Van Dyne families; unveiling the eyeball-sizzling environments of the Quantum Realm; and discovering just why Kang The Conqueror is going to shake up the MCU so substantially. Inside, we speak to Marvel boss Kevin Feige, director Peyton Reed, plus stars Paul Rudd, Jonathan Majors, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton and more to investigate Quantumania’s biggest quandaries – and there are more never-before-seen images than you can shake a tube of Pym particles at. Get ready, Marvel fans: Phase 5 is about to go off – not just with a bang, but with a Kang.
This month’s newsstand cover features Kang looming large over our heroes, ready to assert his dominance over the Multiverse Saga.
And the subscriber cover is a mind-melting multiversal colour explosion, illustrated exclusively for Empire by Murugiah.
Also inside this issue, we talk with Pearl director Ti West and star Mia Goth about the Technicolor horror prequel that scared Scorsese himself; get the first word on Avatar 3 (and beyond) from producer Jon Landau; talk the long-awaited return of Wolverine in Deadpool 3 with the one and only Hugh Jackman; delve deep into the making of The Shining with Lee Unkrich’s new definitive account of its creation, and much, much more.
Find Empire’s world-exclusive Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania issue on newsstands from Thursday 19 January, or pre-order a copy online here now. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania hits UK cinemas from 17 February. For full digital access to this issue - join our membershiphere for as little as 99p