Doctor Strange May Recruit Ant-Man and the Wasp for Avengers 4

CBR

THEORY: How Doctor Strange May Draft Ant-Man & The Wasp Into Avengers 4

By Ian Cardona

Published Jun 7, 2018

Given the intricate plan that Doctor Strange devised to save the day, CBR wonders if that plan somehow involves Ant-Man and the Wasp's Scott Lang.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.

Given the shocking conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, it's understandable that fans have begun to spin their own theories as to what will happen in the untitled Avengers 4, and how the deceased superheroes that crumbled to ash might return to life. At the heart of many of these theories is Doctor Strange, who cryptically saw 14,000,605 futures where Earth's Mightiest Heroes fought Thanos, but only one where they came out on top.

As you'd expect, audiences have been wondering what he saw in the victorious scenario, what he didn't tell Tony Stark (and us, for that matter), and exactly how the fate of the universe lies in the sequence of events that are currently in motion. A recent fan theory postulates that Doctor Strange saw the arrival of Captain Marvel, and that his character may somehow come into play in Carol Danvers' upcoming solo film in March 2019.

However, there is another very strong possibility, one that might unfold much sooner. Could Doctor Strange be set to make a cameo appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp, an appearance that will set up Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne's inevitable role in Avengers 4?

Here's what we know, so far. While Ant-Man wasn't in Infinity War, he will have a role to play in Avengers 4. We also know Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place (mostly) after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but before (or during) Infinity War. This means that while we didn't see his fate in Infinity War, it's a good bet that Ant-Man survived Thanos' fateful, universe-altering finger snap. And considering Doctor Strange saw only one future where the Avengers win, it stands to reason that he may have seen a crucial role Scott Lang may play in these events.

Thus, it's possible we'll see Doctor Strange appear in a cameo capacity in Ant-Man and the Wasp, perhaps in one the film's after-credits scene as an astral projection. There, the Master of the Mystic Arts could tell Scott and Hope that he doesn't have much time, but he has a few very specific tasks the miniature superheroes have to execute. This would leave fans hanging, but in a good way, making them look forward to Avengers 4 even more while tying the film closely to the events Infinity War.

Dr. Strange using the Time Stone in Avengers: infinity War

Since Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place before/during Infinity War, the timeline makes sense. During Strange's meditation session on Titan, he had plenty of time to communicate directly with Scott and Hope before Thanos would find himself back on his home to fight against Iron Man, Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy. We even saw the Sorcerer Supreme create hundreds of duplicates of himself in his fight against the Mad Titan; who's to say one of these projections wasn't sent on Earth, to set Scott down the path he must follow to defeat Thanos?

Ant-Man was kept out of the action of Infinity War for a very specific reason, and that reason just might be a crucial role in helping save all of reality in Avengers 4. With Strange, Scott and Hope all sharing a connection to the Quantum Realm, there's nothing stopping the heroes from coming face-to-astral-face in Ant-Man and the Wasp in a scene that would show us that even though Infinity War is over, the wheels to salvation were actually put in motion even before Thanos destroyed half the universe.

Directed by Peyton Reed, 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. The film arrives in theaters on July 6.