Thor franchise star Chris Hemsworth weighs in on the disappointment surrounding Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, suggesting bigger wasn't necessarily better for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
Speaking with GQ, Hemsworth delved into the MCU and which recent movies from the shared universe he's watched. While he admitted he's yet to watch Quantumania, he welcomed the interviewer's opinion on the superhero title as she claimed the film was too "big," a sentiment shared by audiences and critics alike. According to the acclaimed Australian actor, scaling down the story in Quantumania would have done a lot of good for the movie. "That's the trick: you have to separate all those stories," Hemsworth said. "The moment, it's like...Your world is in danger, the entire universe!' It's like, 'Yeah, so [it] was the last 24 films.' It has to become a bit more personal and grounded."
Hemsworth, whose MCU roles include starring in the Thor and Avengers film franchises, as well as 2016's Doctor Strange, said he has seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, insisting it was "really cool." His most recent Marvel appearance was as the eponymous god of thunder in 2022's Love and Thunder, a film that also underwhelmed compared to initial expectations.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Fell Short For Critics and Fans
Starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Ant-Man and the Wasp, Quantumania was not the start to Phase Five of the MCU Marvel hoped for following its release this past February. Critically, the movie bombed, earning just a 46% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus calling out the film for lacking emotional depth and enjoyment. While the Ant-Man threequel attracted an 83% audience score, fans bemoaned a messy plot despite the creativity it tried to showcase throughout. While Jonathan Majors' performance as the villainous Kang the Conqueror was widely lauded as Quantumania's best feature, Majors' recent legal problems have cast a proverbial shadow over the movie and his MCU career going forward.
Commercially, Quantumania was just as disappointing. While the latest Ant-Man title earned $476 million at the global box office, the film became the first non-pandemic MCU movie to lose money, falling well short of the $600 million it needed to break even. Additionally, Quantumania was the lowest-earning title of the Ant-Man series, with 2015's titular original and 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp making $519 million and $622.7 million, respectively.
Whether there will be an Ant-Man 4 is up in the air after Quantumania's performance following claims by producer Stephen Broussard that another sequel was being discussed behind the scenes. While Quantumania underperformed, the MCU has since bounced back with the box-office success of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which has grossed just under $782 million.
Quantumania is available for streaming via Disney+. Meanwhile, Hemsworth stars in the action thriller, Extraction 2, which opens in theaters on Jun. 16.
Source: GQ