Ant-Man 3 is bringing back the original movie’s villain, Corey Stoll. Officially titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the Phase 4 film will be Paul Rudd’s third solo outing as Scott Lang alongside Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne. While this duo now carries the mantle, the original Ant-Man and Wasp, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), will also be returning. In addition, Scott’s daughter Cassie will be recast as Kathryn Newton.
Last month, Rudd announced he had begun filming the threequel ahead of its release date in 2023. It is already known that Jonathan Majors will be appearing as the villain Kang the Conqueror, and given his connection to the Loki character, Judge Ravnonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), fans have been cooking up plenty of theories about the time-hopping villain throughout the show’s run. However, the latest episode of Loki, “Journey Into Mystery,” actually featured a reference to another Ant-Man villain, Yellowjacket, also known as Dr. Darren Cross (Stoll), Dr. Pym’s former protégé.
Now, during an episode of the Vanity Fair podcast, Still Watching, the hosts were discussing the Yellowjacket Easter egg in Loki when senior writer, Joanna Robinson, stated that Corey Stoll would be returning for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While her sources are unclear, Cinema Reviewed was the first to report the news. Read Robinson's quote below:
I don't know if that's an indication of something to come, but do know that Corey Stoll, in some shape, will be back for Ant-Man 3.
Yellowjacket’s return has long been speculated ever since Evangeline Lilly tagged Stoll in an Instagram post expressing excitement about the film’s script, seemingly spoiling the villain’s return. The Loki Easter egg provided the setup for his return and now, it seems to have been confirmed that Darren Cross will be back for Ant-Man 3 after being presumed dead in the first film.
As indicated by the title, Ant-Man 3 is expected to dive deeper into the Quantum Realm, which will likely provide an explanation for how Cross returns to the MCU. Perhaps, he has been alive this whole time and living in the Quantum Realm, much like Janet van Dyne did for decades before she was rescued during the events of the previous film. Now that Stoll’s involvement has been confirmed, it will be interesting to see how Yellowjacket factors into Ant-Man 3.
Source: Still Watching/Cinema Reviewed
