Will Ant-Man Die in Avengers: Doomsday? Kevin Feige's Elder Statesman Comment Raised a Worrying Possibility

Kevin Feige described Ant-Man as taking on a very different role in Avengers: Doomsday, and it raised a question a lot of fans were asking: will Scott Lang die in the film? I did think he makes a pretty big sacrifice in Doomsday, but there was kind of a catch to it.

At the same time, I really did like what Feige said about him and the direction his character was going. If Scott makes the ultimate sacrifice, I think it'll be a great moment. First, though, here's what Feige actually said.

Feige said Paul Rudd's Ant-Man plays more of an elder statesman in Avengers: Doomsday

The comments came in a recent article about Paul Rudd at the time. It noted that "a Marvel superhero was never on Rudd's vision board," and that Rudd still finds it a little absurd that he, someone he calls an avatar for averageness, was cast as one. Feige, however, insisted Rudd had everything the role of Ant-Man, a thief turned reluctant hero, required.

"We needed this guy to be a criminal, but also someone that you are rooting for no matter what, and that's Paul," Feige said. He also described Rudd as funny, good looking and unbelievably charismatic, which I think most people would probably agree with.

The article went on to say that Rudd hadn't anticipated how much of the following decade he would spend making or promoting Marvel films. His first outing as Ant-Man led to two more standalone films and three Avengers movies, including the then forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday, "where Feige says he plays more of an elder statesman now, dealing with other newer characters."

I found this really interesting, and I really do like it. It suggests Scott has evolved from kind of the funny underdog into a more experienced mentor figure among the current Avengers, across both of the new teams, including the one Sam Wilson has.

Why "elder statesman" could mean Scott Lang is on his way out

Here's the concern. An elder statesman is often described as a highly respected, experienced member of an organization, but one who has stepped back or retired from active leadership. The definition Feige put on him could be implying that Scott might be done, or perhaps that he might be forced to retire in a pretty big way.

Feige's comment also implies a few things about Scott's role in Doomsday. He's now a leader in the Avengers. Maybe not officially, but like an elder statesman, people come to him unofficially for advice.

I think Marvel could do something really cool with that in the soft rebooted universe after Secret Wars, and in the next chapter of the MCU, with some of the leaders we have now. I'll come back to that later in this piece.

Scott Lang's run in with Kang gives him real multiverse knowledge

Scott has had quite the ride in the MCU. He came face to face with what was previously the big bad, the biggest threat to the multiverse: Kang. Although Kang isn't here anymore, I do think that will still come into play, because Scott now has a lot of knowledge about the multiverse.

I do think they're somehow going to say that Doom defeated Kang, maybe. Regardless, Scott came into contact with a person who was going to rule the entire multiverse, a person who has literally destroyed universes. So he has a lot of knowledge there.

He's now a leader with the New Avengers and he's helping new heroes, and I really love that. Imagine him talking to the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts or the Avengers, helping people like Shang-Chi. I honestly love that thought alone.

Cassie Lang is most likely where Ant-Man's sacrifice comes into play

The big part comes with his daughter, and sadly, this is most likely where his sacrifice comes into play. We saw Cassie start the hero's journey in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and I actually think she is probably the only Ant-Man family member to make it into Doomsday. We already knew Evangeline Lilly was not returning to acting, or so she says.

So I feel like Doomsday is just going to have Scott and Cassie. Maybe Hank and Janet appear, maybe the Wasp does show up, but I kind of feel like it's Cassie and Ant-Man. We also know she's going to be a Young Avenger, and that starts in Doomsday.

There's lots of evidence the Young Avengers are forming. In The Marvels post credits scene, Kamala Khan meets the new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, and says that Ant-Man has a daughter. Then in Daredevil: Born Again season 1, we find out Kamala is visiting a friend on the West Coast, which is where Cassie is. So it looks like they're recruiting the Young Avengers.

There's also the leaked art for Avengers: Doomsday that shows the Young Avengers, which I really love because it just feels fun. But here's where we run into an issue: Scott isn't there. The group is seemingly led by Star-Lord and Wong. So where is Ant-Man?

The rumor that Ant-Man dies so Cassie can escape through the Quantum Realm

There were rumors and theories going around that Ant-Man might die in Avengers: Doomsday, and that he might specifically die to save his daughter. We'd heard from insiders that some Avengers will escape the destruction of the multiverse through the Quantum Realm, and there are really only two people who can get people there: Scott and Cassie.

It looks like Cassie takes the Young Avengers, and maybe a few other heroes, there, while Scott stays to fight in the final battle. I personally love that idea. He sends his daughter to safety while he stays behind to fight for the overall cause. He tries to be the hero, but first and foremost, he's a father who wants to protect his daughter.

Even with him staying behind, though, I think he might not actually die. There are two theories on how this plays out.

My two theories for how Scott Lang's sacrifice plays out

In the first, Scott is actually killed by Doctor Doom at some point in the movie. Then at the end, as the multiverse is being destroyed, Cassie takes it upon herself to get people to the Quantum Realm. During the film, Ant-Man might tell her something like, "If we fail, go there and be safe." That makes sense.

In the second, he still kind of dies, but he isn't killed by Doom physically in a fight. I think everyone fights until the very end, and when Scott realizes they can't win, can't save the multiverse and can't stop Doom, he tells Cassie to go. He sends her and the Young Avengers to the Quantum Realm, telling them to escape while he stays and fights, even if there's only a sliver of hope.

They escape and gather a few more heroes along the way, which is how I think they end up with Star-Lord and Wong. Ant-Man dies simply due to the incursion, but is then brought back in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Doom's Battleworld spell, and why a mid film death could be permanent

Unfortunately, once he's brought back, it seems like Scott is going to be under some type of spell by Doctor Doom. The survivors in the Quantum Realm will eventually end up on Battleworld with their complete will intact, and it will be up to them to free everyone else. I think Ant-Man is going to be one of the people under Doom's spell, so they'll have to find him and release him from Doom's grasp.

What we were hearing is that Doom is basically going to control Battleworld the way Wanda controlled the people of Westview in WandaVision, and it's said he uses chaos magic to do it. So everyone who dies at the end and isn't in the Quantum Realm, the Void or a life raft will be under some type of spell, and it's up to the Young Avengers and whoever else survived to release them.

Here's the catch: Paul Rudd's Ant-Man might not be there. What we'd heard is that the Avengers lose, the multiverse gets destroyed, and Doom, as the only person left standing, resurrects everybody and brings them back on Battleworld. But what if it's only the people there at the very end? If Scott dies to Doom in the middle of the movie, he might not be brought back. We'll have to wait and see, but I do think Scott makes it to Battleworld.

I hope Ant-Man stays on as a mentor after the soft reboot

I actually hope Scott stays on after the soft reboot, because I think he could continue to be an elder statesman to the Young Avengers. There could even be a new Hank Pym in the MCU who becomes the new Ant-Man, with Scott there as a mentor.

I think several characters could do this. Thor could become the Allfather, which I've talked about a lot, and we could have a new Thor, with the old one consulted in some films when the new Thor needs help. I think that would be pretty cool. Maybe even Captain America could stay in our universe and become the leader of SHIELD, taking Nick Fury's place in the new universe, with Peggy and his son there. I think that would be pretty great.

My community saw Scott as an Obi-Wan style mentor for the Young Avengers

I put the question to my community: what would they think if Scott died, did they think he would die, and what could his role be? One member wrote, "I think what Kevin Feige meant is that Scott could be like an Obi-Wan character training Luke Skywalker," giving tips to the Young Avengers and whoever else joins in. I really like that idea, and I think it's going to be somewhat of what he's doing.

Another wrote, "I think this means that Ant-Man will act like a battle strategist and counselor to newer Avengers like his daughter Cassie, Ironheart and Shang-Chi," helping them when they're scared and unsure how to fight against multiversal villains like Doom. That same fan said, "Unfortunately, I can see Ant-Man dying in Doomsday or Secret Wars," adding that at the end of the day it's Cassie he wants to survive. That's kind of the biggest thing: he wants his daughter to survive more than himself, and I really like that. I also like the idea of him consoling new heroes who haven't been in massive fights and might find it overwhelming. I think that would be a pretty good job for Ant-Man.

Another fan saw Scott as an established hero within a newly formed group, kind of like what Hawkeye was to the Avengers in the first two films. That fan noted that Ant-Man and Sam Wilson are relatively in the same boat in terms of experience, but Sam took the newer role while Scott did his own thing, which is where the elder statesman idea comes in: not officially the leader, but definitely one of the leaders.

A different member thought Scott would stick around, at least for cameos, through Phase 8 and 9, describing him as someone who has always been a teamwork type of guy and arguing that if Vision and Star-Lord can take on elder roles, Ant-Man is made for it. I agree. I think he could stick around for a very long time, and every time he's on screen, people really like him. I think he got a pretty rough deal in Quantumania, but for the most part, people really like him.

Many fans expected Ant-Man to die, but not necessarily for good

One fan wrote, "I feel like they didn't know what to do with Scott after Endgame," and guessed the whole Ant-Man family will end up dying, with rebooted versions of the characters arriving in the soft reboot. That's pretty intense. I don't think they'll all die. I think Cassie definitely survives, and while I don't know what they'll say happens with Hank and Janet, I do think they get recast eventually.

Another wrote simply, "I sure hope he doesn't die," and I hope he doesn't either. That fan also hoped he doesn't end up like the variant of Scott Lang tied to Cassandra Nova in Deadpool and Wolverine. I really hope that's not the case either; that was a very unfortunate death for that variant. But that's kind of the issue. If Marvel is looking for a big emotional moment, Scott dying to save his daughter is a pretty big one they could definitely use.

One member said, "I do believe he'll die," reasoning that Scott doesn't offer much power against Doctor Doom. To be perfectly honest, that's not wrong. There are some things he could do, but as far as power level goes, I don't think Doom would be too concerned with him. Another fan wrote, "I believe he dies in some form of self-sacrifice to save his daughter, family, others," and imagined it playing out like the scene in Inside Out where Bing Bong jumps out of the cart so Joy can escape. That's pretty emotional, and unfortunately I think that's what they might use Scott for.

One fan suggested Hope might sacrifice herself instead, but I really don't think Hope is going to be in the film, because the actress who plays her said she's done. Another predicted Scott dies in Secret Wars and hoped to see King Thanos return. I hope so too, but I don't hope Scott dies, and if he does, I hope he gets resurrected.

Two final comments argued his death wouldn't last. One said it's possible Scott dies only temporarily, pointing out that Marvel could make Hank Pym young as Ant-Man in the reboot without Scott needing to die, sort of like what they did with Captain America and Sam. I totally agree. The other argued that anyone who dies isn't really going to be dead after Secret Wars, because it resets everything, and that Scott still has to marry Hope. Again, I don't think Hope is in this, though maybe they say the two got married.

Like both of those comments, I think Scott comes back no matter what. Even if Marvel uses him for that big sacrificial moment, which I do think might happen, I'd really hope he returns, either in the soft reboot or once Battleworld is created and Doom, from what we'd been hearing, resurrects people. He's one of the characters I really like, and Paul Rudd absolutely crushes it as Ant-Man. Either way, it sounded like Doomsday was going to be quite an emotional time for Scott Lang and probably Cassie Lang too.

Do you think Ant-Man dies in Avengers: Doomsday, and if he does, would his death be permanent?