Marvel has gone through great lengths to create a well-connected cinematic universe. It’s so established that characters from one film can pop up in another without any viewer batting an eye. We all accept that the MCU is one congruent timeline, so why would a filmmaker not look to take advantage of this shared character directory and include as many Avengers as possible in one movie?
Enter Ant-Man director Peyton Reed. He had the hard task of filling in for fanboy legend Edgar Wright who left due to issues with Marvel Studios. Reed (along with Adam McKay and Paul Rudd) reworked the script into his own unique formula, and it ended up becoming a fan-favorite and one of the more unique films in the MCU collection. As Reed told Moviefone, he hopes to use the same formula for the sequel and let Scott Lang dictate his own path.
“I think we like our little Ant-Man corner of the universe. Because it’s a whole different vibe tonally, but also just in terms of who Scott Lang, who Ant-Man is: he is a guy who is maybe not so sure he wants to be like this Avenger-style, full-on superhero. He’s got a kid, and this is the inner conflict with him, and he’s very much just like a normal guy who has come into contact with some incredible power. So, we like that aspect of kind of like it being its own little corner of the universe.”
As we’re all aware, Scott Lang was thrust into the events of Civil War after being kidnapped by Hawkeye. While not officially indoctrinated into the Avengers, his involvement during the airport battle means he has a future alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
That’s great news for every Marvel fan. Although Ant-Man’s time in Civil War was limited, it was extremely memorable. He added much needed comedy to an intense battle scene. Then he completely stole the show by turning his powers 180 degrees and evolving into Giant-Man. The image of a massive Scott Lang holding War Machine like an action figure is as iconic as it gets. However, for Reed, Giant-Man has become a “what if” scenario.
“When I first found out — gosh, I don’t know, two years ago, a year-and-a-half ago — that “Civil War” was going to get the Giant-Man premiere, I was like “No!” But, now, I’ve since recovered, and we have a lot more in store for Scott Lang in this movie. We get to see the Wasp debut — we’re all about the Wasp and Ant-Man. So I like it, because we spend a lot of time with our different writers and directors, and there’s a lot of crosstalk, and I love that.”
So, not only does Peyton Reed get to put Hope van Dyne exclusively into his next movie, but he gets to work with the current stable of directors Marvel has on hand to ensure her character flows freely into future Avengers adventures. But before The Wasp falls into the hands of The Russo Brothers, or anyone else for that matter, Reed is the director that gets to bring her character into the action.
“Well, I’m just personally excited to get to introduce yet another character into the Marvel Universe. After Ant-Man, now we get to see Wasp, so really designing her look, the way she moves, the power set, and figuring out, sort of, who Hope van Dyne is as a hero — because we know her in a certain context in the first movie, but now she’s going to have her coming out party — that’s exciting!”
Ant-Man & The Wasp is already shaping up to be its own unique movie, separate from all the chaos sure to be caused by the Avengers. That’s just perfect. The Peyton Reed-led sequel will be released on July 6th, 2018… just three months after Infinity War. So, there will be no need to include a handful of Avengers this time around. Instead, Reed can work on letting Paul Rudd and Ant-Man shine, and then let The Wasp (and possibly a resurgent Giant-Man) show up to steal the show! Who needs ten superheroes when you have a dynamic combination like Ant-Man & The Wasp!
