If you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War, you’ll know that the film’s excellent post-credits scene doesn’t tease the most immediate next Marvel movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is unusual. The screenwriters have a reason for that, even if it’s a little rude to poor Scott and Hope.
So yes, as you probably know at this point – and if you didn’t, why are you here, below my nice big spoiler warning? Skedaddle! – Avengers: Infinity War ends with half of all life in the universe turned into itty bitty bits of dust, including some of our favourite Marvel heroes. The post-credit scene kills off even more faves in the form of Maria Hill and Nick Fury, but not before Nick can dial up his snazzy li’l space beeper and send a message to tell the cavalry to come charging in and give Thanos a smack to the face…
Nick Fury’s space beeper, emblazoned with the Hala star of Captain Marvel’s supersuit.Image: RISE/Marvel Studios (Art of VFX)
…namely Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp are nowhere to be seen, despite the fact that their movie is out in a matter of months. So why no tease for them? Well, speaking to Collider in an extensive interview, Infinity War screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely had an answer that first jokingly sounds like a rebuff of the heroic capabilities of Scott and Hope. Here’s McFeely on why they chose Carol over the size-shifting heroes:
We thought, ‘do you want to give any hope?’ It’s a tragedy and tragedies end in a grim and sad end…
We wanted to give a bit of hope to people, and [Captain Marvel] was the best chance we had.
Half the planet’s population is gone! I’m sure Ant-Man and the Wasp could provide a little bit of hope to Earth’s remaining population. Yes, Carol’s probably going to be the most powerful hero in the Marvel movieverse in the fight against Thanos in Avengers 4, but Scott and Hope can… shrink! And enlarge! They could get down inside the gaps in the Infinity Gauntlet and make it so itchy Thanos has to drop it!
But, as Markus added, the actual reason isn’t a put down of Ant-Man or the Wasp’s abilities but instead, a tonal one. Teasing a lighter, comedic film like Ant-Man and the Wasp after audiences just watched a bunch of their beloved superheroes get turned into cosmic kitty litter would have been some weird whiplash.
When you end it like that, there aren’t too many other places you can go [for a tag scene]. Marvel tags often point to the next movie coming. The next movie is Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is light-hearted – you don’t wanna go, ‘But meanwhile! Paul Rudd is still adorable!’
That’s much more reasonable, really. Still, poor Scott and Hope, upstaged by a space beeper. Head on over to the link below to see the rest of Collider’s extensive interview with the duo.
[Collider]