The mixed-up timelines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including upcoming Multiverse Saga entries Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Deadpool 3, are parodied in fan art bringing Thanos, Kang, and Wolverine together. Thanos (Josh Brolin) is the overarching villain of the first three phases of the MCU, following a mission to spread resources by eliminating half the universe. Although he was killed early on in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the time-traveling super team accidentally caught the attention of a past Thanos from a previous timeline, who they also had to fight. Timelines and alternate universes will be key to the franchise’s Multiverse Saga (comprised of Phases 4 through 6), which follows the overarching villain Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) and will feature effects including the return of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
On Instagram, fan artist Y. Raikchakha Reang created a piece that features Thanos, Wolverine, and Kang commiserating about the confusing timelines of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.
In the artwork, a newly resurrected Wolverine (through methods that have not yet been revealed in the MCU) relaxes while healing from bullet holes as Thanos mixes a cocktail and Kang stares into his drink. When Wolverine asks what timeline he’s in, the response is “IDK Man, rewriting existence and shattering timelines is stressful.”
How Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Could Change the MCU Again
The first entry in Phase 5 of the MCU is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which hits theaters on February 17. That film will follow Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and her mother Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) as they venture into the Quantum Realm and discover a secret universe beneath their own. There, they will encounter Kang, the villain whose variant was originally introduced as the shadowy being behind the Time Variance Authority in 2021’s Loki season 1.
Now that Phase 4 has introduced a crop of new heroes to the franchise while re-introducing the various legacy characters who are returning, the Multiverse Saga will kick off in full with this Ant-Man sequel. While overlapping timelines and universes have already been explored in Loki season 1, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, this film will likely be the entry that reveals Kang’s overall plan and how he intends to go about accomplishing his aims. This version of Kang is actually a different variant from the one that appears in Loki (known as He Who Remains), so the overlapping of different realities will have already begun if he is released from the Quantum Realm.
If Kang’s full power is unleashed in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the MCU’s timelines and universes will likely begin to crisscross in an absolute free-for-all. In addition to allowing Wolverine to appear in Deadpool 3, this will probably have lasting consequences for the rest of the films in Phases 5 and 6. This includes projects like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (which already includes a version of Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora from a previous timeline) and 2025’s Fantastic Four (which will likely follow the cosmic origin of the titular team).
Source: Y. Raikchakha Reang/Instagram