5 Big Questions Your Kids Will Have After ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ Answered

Unlike recent Marvel superhero extravaganzas, the story of Ant-Man and the Wasp is fairly self-contained. However, a lot of that simplicity goes out the window in the final moments of the movie. After the first part of the credits roll, there’s a game-changing post-credits scene. And, that means your kids are going to have a few burning questions about the movie. Spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp are coming, but more importantly, the answers to your kid’s biggest questions about the movie and its ending are answered right here.

1. What Is the Quantum Realm?

The definition of “quantum” according to Merriam-Webster is “quantity” or “amount” or “size.” Relative to our “realm”, the “Quantum Realm” is a place where things get tinier and tinier until they are microscopic, subatomic, and then, well “quantum.” You may have heard of “quantum physics” which is the study of physics that specifically isn’t about the macroscopic world. Quantum physics is connected to theories about time travel because outside of the macro world, the relationship between space and time and all sorts of stuff might be different. There’s a big emphasis here on might, only because the idea that black holes are linked with time travel falls under the umbrella of “quantum theory.”

The word theory is important, because none of this stuff has been proven, which is also why shrinking people like Ant-Man don’t exist in the real world, at least that we know of. Conceivably though, you can tell your kids this: the lack of evidence of a real-life Ant-Man doesn’t preclude the existence of a real-life Ant-Man. If Ant-Man and the quantum realm do exist IRL, we probably don’t know about it.

2. Are Hank, Janet and Hope (AKA ‘The Wasp’) All Dead After the Post-Credits Scene?

Technically, the answer to this question is yes, these three characters are totally dead. But, they’re also dead in the same way Spider-Man and Black Panther are dead after the end of Infinity War. Because the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place at the exact same time as Infinity War, these three characters are all victims of Thanos’s finger snap, which has reduced them to that creepy ash. Does this mean they will stay dead? No way. Like any of the Avengers who were similarly “killed” in Infinity War, these characters are way too well liked to stay dead forever. If you’re going to put money on which of three might stay dead, Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym seems the most likely contender.

3. Will Ant-Man and the Wasp Actually Return?

Some eagle-eyed kids will notice that at the very end of the movie after all the credits have rolled, there’s text on the screen that says “Ant-Man and the Wasp Will Return.” But that sentence quickly changes to a question and reads: “Ant-Man and the Wasp Will Return?” So what’s the deal? Well, the easy answer is that they will return in some kind of Marvel move in the future. But, it’s not totally clear if there will be another movie only focused on Ant-Man and the Wasp. To put it another way, if Ant-Man and the Wasp is the sequel to Ant-Man, it’s not totally clear right now if there will be an Ant-Man 3. Having said that, because the characters will surely be back in some kind of Marvel movie, you can tell your kids with total confidence, that yes, Ant-Man and the Wasp will be back.

4. Where Is Ant-Man at the End of the Movie?

The easy answer is that Ant-Man is trapped in the Quantum Realm. But, because Janet Van Dyne (that’s Michelle Pfeiffer in the movie) mentions something about “time vortexes” right before the end of that first post-credits scene, it’s totally possible that Ant-Man is traveling through time. Where will he end up? The past? The future? Some point before Thanos showed up and screwed everyone over? The next big Marvel movie hitting theaters is Captain Marvel which actually doesn’t come out until March 8, 2019. After that, Avengers 4 will come out on May 3, 2019. So yes, it will be about a year before anyone finds out the answer to this question.

5. Why is that Giant Ant Playing the Drums at the End of the Movie?

In the last post-credits scene, we see a giant ant playing Scott Lang’s drum set. Why is this happening? Well, mostly because it’s funny, but also to demonstrate that even though the entire world is in chaos because of Thanos’s invasion in Infinity War, this ant is still doing its job. In the movie, the big ant was programmed to mimic Scott’s actions in order to fool the FBI into thinking he was still at home. And, even though everyone’s life has been thrown into chaos, this big ant is still doing his job perfectly.

–Ant-Man and the Wasp is out now in wide release in movie theaters everywhere.-