Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness was taken “by surprise” by the bad reviews directed at the MCU outing. Speaking with The Daily Beast, Loveness, who is also known for his work on the hit animated series Rick and Morty and will write the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, revealed that the negative response to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania left him feeling “pretty low.”

“To be honest, those reviews took me by surprise. I was in a pretty low spot… Those were not good reviews, and I was like, ‘What the …?’”

Unfortunately, the reviews for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have certainly not been kind, with the sequel now standing as the second-lowest ranked movie in the MCU on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Standing above just Eternals at just 48% the consensus reads, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mostly lacks the spark of fun that elevated earlier adventures, but Jonathan Majors’ Kang is a thrilling villain poised to alter the course of the MCU.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

One major (haha.) positive to come out of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania however is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, with Loveness declaring that he is proud of what he wrote for the character’s debut.

“I’m really proud of what I wrote for Jonathan [Majors] and Michelle Pfeiffer [scientist Janet Pym]. I thought that was good stuff, you know? And so I was just despondent, and I was really sad about it.”

Thankfully, Loveness’ mood was lifted when watching the movie with an audience, as their response was a lot more favorable than the critics. Something which is reflected with the 83% Rotten Tomatoes audience score.

“I’m like, ‘Goddamn! No, [the reviews] are wrong! I’m right! MODOK is great!’ I’m pretty happy with it overall, and I think I learned how to take a punch this week. And now that I learned that it’s not too bad, I can just get on with making things.”

RELATED: Quantumania Writer Rallies Against Fan Backlash to the Movie’s Ending

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Kicks Off Phase 5 of the MCU
Marvel Studios

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finds superhero partners Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne returning to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together with Hope’s parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures, and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Directed by Peyton Reed from a screenplay by Jeff Loveness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, aka Wasp, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, as well as David Dastmalchian, William Jackson Harper, Katy O’Brian, Bill Murray, Randall Park, and Corey Stoll.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out now in theaters, and kicks off Phase 5 of the MCU which will include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, and Blade.