Marvel Diverted All The “Best” CGI Artists Away From ‘Ant Man 3’ And Onto ‘Wakanda Forever’: Report

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has already cemented itself as one of the lowest performing Marvel Cinematic Universe films of all-time. A report from Vulture reveals a big reason why.

Star-studded MCU sequel films Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were both in post-production around the same time, leaving the former to be prioritized over the latter.

Even though Ant-Man 3 has done well so far in the box office since its February 17 North American release, the film has suffered when it comes to critical feedback and Rotten Tomato score, especially compared to those of Wakanda Forever. But evidently, the root of the issue stems from the Ant-Man workers’ experiences during post, as highlighted by some of the actual VFX team at hard work behind the scenes.

Vulture spoke to three different staff members, visual-effects technician “Jim,” photogrammetry tech “Ted,” and VFX artist “Conor,” all of whom went by aliases in the article to preserve anonymity.

“In terms of priority, Wakanda Forever was definitely at the top of the list. All the money went to that. All the best resources went to that,” Jim said. He made it clear he understood why, given the passing of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman as well as the first film’s breakout financial and critical success. Even so, “it did diminish the ability to carry Ant-Man all the way through.”

Ant-Man‘s VFX team was simultaneously understaffed and overworked, causing months of 80 hour work weeks that took their tole on the final product.

“Unfortunately, it is noticeable that there were shortcuts. Certain things were used to cover up incomplete work.”

Conor agreed that Wakanda Forever was Marvel’s number one priority, much to Ant-Man‘s detriment.

“With a lot of these projects being worked on simultaneously, resources become thinner. The quality starts lacking. You can’t expect all of the VFX companies to give the highest-quality work, especially if you’re going to do it on a lower budget.”

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earned $120 million in North America over its opening weekend and currently has a 48% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes.