Ant-Man has been a mainstay in the overarching Marvel Cinematic Universe for some time now. The upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will show yet another step in the growth of the character Scott Lang.
In a recent interview with the Nerdbunker during a press tour for the upcoming film, director Peyton Reed was asked about the changes Scott has gone through, from an ex-convict to someone who has helped save the universe.
Reed said that the changes were “gratifying,” as they didn’t really know how audiences would come to accept both Paul Rudd or the character of Ant-Man as a legitimate superhero.
“It’s really gratifying because, when Paul and I started on the first movie,” said Reed. “It was a question of ‘Will audiences accept Paul Rudd as a superhero? Will people accept Ant-Man, a guy who shrinks and controls ants, as a character?’ And they have, and that’s really gratifying, and I think audiences relate to Scott Lang because he doesn’t have superpowers, he’s not a super-scientist, he’s not a billionaire. He’s kind of a regular person who just happens to get caught up in these adventures. But I think we’ve all grown in kind of what we want to do with the movies and how we see the character, sort of the family dynamics.”
Reed went on to note that a big inspiration for the upcoming film was time, and following the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame — which saw Lang’s daughter grow up to an 18-year-old following Lang being snapped out of existence — Lang’s main motivation is just wanting to spend more time with his daughter. This will play a role as Lang comes to meet Kang the Conqueror, who holds dominion over time and will likely try to get Ant-Man to help him in some way.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is once again being directed by Peyton Reed from a screenplay written by Jeff Loveness. The action-comedy superhero sequel will release on February 17, 2023.
