MCU: 13 Things You Learn Rewatching Ant-Man

8. Considering They Were Shoe-Horned, The MCU Connections Work Well

Famously, Edgar Wright didn't want to make Ant-Man an explicit MCU movie and didn't plan on having any references to the shared universe in there. Marvel didn't agree with the approach (inevitably, given the fact that the MCU is sort of important to them), so they gave Peyton Reed a specific agenda to make the ties closer.

The result works a lot better than that "shoe-horning" should have led to: opening with the flashback to establish Pym's volatile relationship with SHIELD is great because it not only establishes friction but also offers a reason why the Avengers are never called in to deal with Yellowjacket, despite him working with HYDRA.

Then there's the Falcon scene, which rather unfortunately makes him look like a bit of a weakling, but it works really well for Lang and really shows off his combat capabilities (after the build-up suggesting but not showing why the technology is "the world's most dangerous weapon").

It also proves how much of a shame it is that Wright seemingly wouldn't tie his film to the MCU closely, as there was no compromise on the main story to have them in there.