Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania comes as a ray of hope in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s recent slump. Phase 4 had a bunch of forgettable projects to its name with an exception of a few. Not only did it disappoint the fans, but it also made them question the future of the superhero genre giant. Enter Ant-Man 3.
While the trailer for the movie was immensely praised by fans who stated that the OG Marvel’s back, there seems to be disapproval amongst the compliments. After the release of a short new shot from the film, fans are worried that MCU’s CGI department has once again failed to live up to expectations, stating that it looks fake.
Ant-Man 3’s CGI Disappoints MCU Fans
A Twitter user who goes by the username, @Cryptic4KQual, shared a shot from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on his Twitter account. In the shot, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and his daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) are seen standing in the middle, looking at the Quantum Realm around them. In the footage, fans are greeted by a wide-angle view as the bright and colorful Quantum Realm stands tall in front of them.
#AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania pic.twitter.com/kO05CVSEBO
— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@Cryptic4KQual) January 14, 2023
While some fans think the shot looks stunning, others didn’t seem to be on the same page. Taking a dig at Marvel’s CGI once again, fans have put the movie on blast stating that it is simply bad. However, a few have pointed out that while the VFX in itself looks okay, the lighting and the blocking seem to be the culprits here.
The VFX is fine but the blocking and lighting is terrible tbh
— ethan (@ethan_2K2) January 16, 2023
I do not remember it looking that bad wtf
— Aidan (@ARod2Watson) January 16, 2023
See if they gave their artists time and proper pay we wouldn’t have this issue 🤷♂️
— _hazzaaa_ (@eviljesus123) January 16, 2023
With push backs and these shots not being in the new trailer means they’re still working on them. Ideally they’ll be fixed in time for the movie
— user2938489 (@user2938489) January 16, 2023
blame the lighting more than the cgi
— josh.becker.33 🙂 (@joshbecker659) January 16, 2023
Director Peyton Reed revealed on his Twitter, that the Studios will be using The Mandalorian’s The Volume technology for the upcoming movie. It is a replacement for the usual green screen which uses a curved LED screen to depict a more realistic background. It’s worth noting the fact that this technology was also used in Thor: Love and Thunder whose VFX was ridiculed to no extent.
Welcome to The Volume.
QUANTUMANIA Prep
Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath
May 2021 pic.twitter.com/ih2c55MbWD— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) May 17, 2021
Even though the CGI doesn’t seem to have pleased the fans, we can all but hope that this is just the case for the time being. With there still being a bit of time in the release of the movie, maybe it’ll end up looking much better in the actual film.
Marvel Blamed for Overworking their VFX Artists
The Volume technology has been used in The Mandalorian, The Batman, and a few other projects that were praised for their CGI. This goes on to suggest that while the technology in itself is not the issue, the team responsible for putting it into use might be to blame. However, with reports of Marvel Studios’ rushing and overworking the artists, it is quite possible that the team couldn’t get enough time to really get familiar with The Volume.
The VFX department at Marvel Studios is surely facing a slump, no matter how much they try to hide it. The decline is quite painfully obvious to viewers after seeing the recent movies and TV series that the VFX quality has not been up to the mark. The VFX in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) stunned the audience and critics all over the world. But after Avengers: Endgame (2019), the VFX department was suddenly loaded with several TV series and movies with very little time on their hands. From focusing on one movie at a time for a whole year, they were burdened with 4-5 TV series and 3 movies in one instant. On top of that, rumors of VFX artists not being paid enough also surfaced.
If Marvel Studios wants to get back to its groundbreaking VFX era, it should certainly give the VFX team some time to breathe. With Marvel now wanting to focus more on the quality of their projects, maybe they’ll finally cut the team some slack.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will release on February 17, 2023.
Source: Twitter | Cryptic HD Quality
