‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ ties to ‘Avengers 4’ and expands the role of Wasp in the MCU
From Slash Film comes a new interview with Ant-Man director/creator Peyton Reed, addressing links between Avengers: Infinity War, this new film Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers 4, opening next summer.
In the fallout of Infinity War, Reed was asked about the impact on his new film.
“Well, we definitely had to deal with the ramifications post-Civil War. That was crucial to Scott (Paul Rudd) and crucial to Hope (Evangeline Lilly). I mean, it really is fundamental in the jumping-off point about what’s going on between the two of them at the start of this movie. Outside of that, what I’m really happy about is we’re free to tell sort of our freestanding story. Once we establish that as the leaping-off point, this thing is going on over here with huge personal stakes and huge other stakes that are really separate of what’s going on with Infinity War. So that, again, is something that was really, really appealing to me. We have enough stuff to track in this movie without having to sort of keep abreast of what’s going on in that.”
Reed explains his excitement.
“… the first movie, we came out in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron which was, (excitedly) ‘That was the sequel to Avengers. It’s Age of Ultron!’ and so we could be working in this little corner, and it feels the same way again, because now we’re coming out right after Infinity War and I like that. I personally feel that’s the position I want to be in. I think it’s good.”
It’s no secret, the new film will heighten the role of Wasp, expanding Hope’s role in the MCU.
“Absolutely. That was something that from the get-go – particularly when we decided this movie’s going to be Ant-Man and the Wasp – it’s not ‘Ant-Man with the Wasp.’ It’s ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ and so it is important to tell those stories separately and invest in each of the characters’ journeys and arcs in the movie. One of the big things about this is what’s going on with Hope and the fact that she has…let me be delicate so I don’t give anything away. The mission that is happening with her, entirely separate of Scott, is vital and it’s her mission. It’s not her dad’s mission. It’s her mission. Now Hank (Michael Douglas) and Hope are working together, but it’s really Hope leading the charge, and that was an important thing when we started talking about what was going on is the what and why of this mission, and that there may be certain points in this movie where she sees Scott as a liability. And I think that was important because there are aspects of this movie that are like a two-hander action movie and there’s aspects of it that are like a two-hander romantic comedy, and for me, who’s done a little bit of both, it’s important to get that balance and have her be a fully fleshed-out character with motivations.
“The other questions we talked about with the search and rescue aspect is, if it is trying to find Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), what does that mean to Hope? We kind of know what it means to Hank from the first movie. What does it mean to Hope? And if she’s now finally a fully-fledged hero in her own right, and you’re in a position like that, you tend to kind of look for mentors or role models and the one person that she would really turn to is not there. Hank can do something. Scott maybe might be a template of maybe what not to do all the time (laughs), but that person who really, I think she would ideally want there is not there, and that was a really important aspect of the movie.”
Check out the full Slash Film interview HERE
The film’s villain has been cast, Hannah John-Kamen, who was recently seen in Ready Player One, a gender-swap casting for Ghost. Also joining the film is Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster. In the comic books,
Fishburne’s Foster acquires the ability to grow into a giant-sized baddie named Goliath. Now the new footage links Foster to Hank Pym, but there’s more there to unravel.
Walton Goggins (Tomb Raider reboot, Justified) plays a weapons dealer/manufacturer named Sonny Burch. Burch is the new head of Cross Industries and like Yellowjacket before him, definitely appears as if he has his sights set on Hank Pym’s technology.
Now the action of the new film actually takes place BEFORE Infinity War, but audiences should expect a tie-in, particularly to that dramatic ending. There was one quick line about Scott Lang’s “house arrest” after Civil War to excuse away his absence.
The new film was written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari and also stars Michael Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Abby Ryder-Fortson, and Randall Park.
Ant-Man and the Wasp opens in theaters on July 6th.
