When does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania take place on the Marvel timeline?

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We dive deep into Ant-Man 3's place on the Marvel timeline

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
(Image credit: Marvel/Disney)

Where does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fall on the Marvel timeline? It's a fairly complex question to answer, because that timeline is only getting bigger with each new release. As Marvel Phase 5  takes off, we're going to see some huge storylines comes to pass as Marvel Phase 6 approaches and two new Avengers movies, The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, get even closer. 

Quantumania finally gives Kang the Conqueror his MCU debut, following a brief introduction to one of his Variants in Loki, and, considering some of the other spoilery plot points that play out, it's clear the film is of major importance to the future of the Marvel universe. We've done the hard work for you and figured out exactly when the film is set on that timeline, so you can understand the movie's place in the MCU – especially helpful considering Marvel doesn't release projects in chronological order and is ahead of our own timeline. Plus, everything below is spoiler free, so you can read whether you've seen Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or not.

When does Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania take place on the Marvel timeline?

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is actually fairly easy to place on the Marvel timeline, and it's all thanks to a small Wakanda Forever Easter egg. In Black Panther 2, at one point, the CNN ticker mentions Scott Lang's book, Look Out for the Little Guy. At the beginning of Ant-Man 3, Scott is promoting his book, meaning the two films must be set at the same time. 

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Wakanda Forever is set in 2025, the year in which the Marvel timeline currently ends. Other projects set in 2025 are Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, Werewolf by Night, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Officially, Disney says the Black Panther sequel is after Moon Knight and before She-Hulk. According to Marvel producer Nate Moore, Wakanda Forever runs "almost concurrent" to Quantumania.

"This movie clearly happens after No Way Home and Eternals," Moore told CinemaBlend of Wakanda Forever. "I think it probably happens potentially concurrent with Thor [Love and Thunder]. New Asgard does exist in our film. And almost concurrent with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is coming out in February."

But, a quick line of dialogue does throw the timeline into question. Cassie Lang says Yellowjacket attacked her when she was 6, but Ant-Man, the film that scene takes place in, is set in 2015. That would make Cassie only 16 in Quantumania, which seems unlikely – so this might be a small retcon, or just an overlooked detail. 

For even more on Quantumania, check out our spoilery deep dives on:  

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.