The Timeline of 'Ant-Man and the Wasp,' Explained

Scott Lang helped Captain America in 2016’s Civil War, and as a result of that illegal act, he had to pay the price. Lang, better known as Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest at the beginning of Ant-Man and the Wasp. But, exactly how much time has passed? And when does the film take place in relation to Avengers: Infinity War from earlier this year?

A line of dialogue in the movie confirms that two years have passed since Scott went to Germany to help assist Captain America, in direct violation of the Sokovia Accords. Under the watchful eye of FBI agent Jimmy Woo (who in the comics was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and leader of the Agents of Atlas), Scott serves his time on his couch, not having superhero adventures like the rest of the Marvel roster.

So, where was Ant-Man during the events of Doctor Strange? House arrest. During Spider-Man: Homecoming? House arrest. Thor: Ragnarok? House arrest. Black Panther? House arrest.

Prior to its release, Marvel confirmed that Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place before the evens of Avengers: Infinity War, which ended on a universe-altering cliffhanger. Given that two years have passed, Ant-Man and the Wasp seems to take place just before Infinity War, though for most of the movie there’s not much in the way of connections to the MCU’s biggest event.

However, the post-credits scenes, which we won’t explicitly spoil just yet, take place after the events of the rest of the movie and, crucially, at the same time as Infinity War. It’s hard to say exactly how much time has passed between the main events of the film and the post-credits/Infinity War time period, but it seems to have been at least a couple weeks.

To recap: Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place maybe a month or so before Avengers: Infinity War, but the post-credits scenes take place during Thanos’ attack. The future of the MCU is still unknown.

Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6.