How Does Ant-Man and The Wasp's Quantum Realm Work?

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp, in theaters now.

When Peyton Reed's Ant-Man came out in 2015, it delivered a heist-driven action comedy. However, it also proved to be a game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing the concept of the multiverse via the Quantum Realm.

There, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the estranged wife of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), remained stuck after going sub-atomic trying to stop a Soviet nuclear missile. Hank tried but couldn't engineer a solution to extract Janet because he was simply unable to locate her. Thankfully, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) gave Hank and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) a sense of optimism, as he was able to visit the micro verse and return alive.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp, the search for Janet picks up steam, and we learn more about the inner-workings of this mysterious place.

One of the big things we learn is how the Quantum Realm's energy can be harnessed. Because Janet was marooned there for 30 years, she basically turned into a battery storing quantum energy. What's more, given her genius, she knows how to control it as it's become part of her essence.

This energy can be extracted straight from the source, too, as Hank and Hope show with their new invention, the Quantum Tunnel. This runway-like device probes for signatures and taps into the overall energy of the microverse, which is how they're finally able to lock onto Janet. And it's the reason Sonny Burch (Walton Goggin) is trying to steal the technology to sell on the black market.

It's a dangerous process, though, as we witness with the accident that created Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), if the extraction is uncontrolled and humans are exposed to quantum energy outside of the realm, it leaves their molecules in a state of flux, which is why she is able to phase through material. Her body, her physical matter so to speak, is unstable, which is why she and Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) need Janet: To extract her energy, and use it to stabilize Ghost.

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Reed's sequel digs even deeper into the Quantum Realm, treating it as something more than just a well of energy to mine. When Hank eventually gets into his Quantum Pod to rescue Janet, he learns it's changed her a lot, having roamed and lived in what became her new world. There, he encounters creatures which can be construed as aliens, or even supernatural monsters. But he's not surprised because the place where he meets these beings is what he's dubbed the Quantum Void, an anomaly where, as he so eloquently puts it, “all concepts of time and space become irrelevant." To get Janet, he has to go beyond this sub-atomic threshold and enter a region where space and time fold onto each other. That's why it's a gateway to the multiverse, and why so many unknown entities reside therein.

“If we do succeed in Ant-Man and the Wasp, then that does open a whole entire new multiverse to enter into and play around in,” Lilly said when referencing how the sequel handles this Pandora's Box. “I’m not the story creator, so I can’t tell you what they’re going to do with that. But I definitely see the potential there.”

Reed's sequel delivers on Lilly's promise, detailing the realm as an access point to alternate, unexplored dimensions, where visitors like Scott and Stephen Strange witnessed glimpses of the multiverse in the past. Regarding Doctor Strange and his fellow sorcerers, all of whom blur the line between magic and science, it seems they might actually be tapping into this void when accessing the Astral Plane or creating portals to different dimensions.

There are a couple more significant revelations in the movie's post-credits. As Team Pym begin using the tunnel once more, it's not energy they're extracting, but healing particles. The movie's a bit vague on this, leaving us wondering what other types of particles Janet discovered. She also warns Scott about encountering time vortexes. This is monumental as time-travel, if it doesn't go horribly wrong of course, could provide a solution to Avengers: Infinity War. With Scott stuck in the microverse now, there's the potential of such vortexes being used to find Hank and his family (victims of Thanos' snap); link up with Captain Marvel from the '90s; and even help formulate a plan against Thanos in Avengers 4.

The point is, if Scott can properly find a way to utilize and manipulate the space-time continuum, the possibilities are endless. What's interesting as well is given we've seen the Quantum Realm associated with space, time and energy, it's worth remembering what the Collector said when describing the origin of the Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

"Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones." He added, "These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. These carriers can use the stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field. Once, for a moment, a group (the Watchers) was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it."

Taking this into consideration, and all the extra insight from Reed's follow-up, the Quantum Realm may even have a bigger link to the stones than first assumed. But that's one mystery for now we can only theorize about.

In theaters now, director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park and Walton Goggins.