The Marvel marketing machine is in full effect right now, promoting the upcoming Ant-Man. Every day we’re being overwhelmed with trailers, TV spots, and behind the scenes videos. Marvel even released a Father’s Day-inspired teaser for the film. Now, ScreenRant has released a report from a set visit that sheds some light on what to expect in the film. More accurately, WHO to expect in the film.
Warning: Spoilers!
It was rumored a while ago that founding Avenger, Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp, would play a minor role in the film, possibly ending in her death. Janet Van Dyne is the wife of original Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and has been a classic Avenger for decades in the comics. It seems as if the early rumors were correct. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirms that we will see her in the film.
Answering the question about how much The Wasp factors into the film, Feige says, “It factors in, in a number of spoiler-ish ways, but we will see Janet Van Dyne in action in this film. And part of sort of what happened to her. And then we will understand why that is the reason that he doesn’t want his daughter to follow in those footsteps. One of the reasons why he’s always so upset about superheroes in general, dismissive of them in general and also a reason why he doesn’t want her to put on the suit.”
We can speculate what happens to Janet from that quote, and it’s probably not good. Pym hates superheroes because he blames them for the death/disappearance of his wife. With this tragedy, there’s no way he’s going to jeopardize the life of his daughter, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), by allowing her to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Thus Pym enlists the help of a reformed criminal, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), to wear the suit and become Ant-Man.
Feige goes on to justify Pym’s desire to have Scott Lang take over the role of Ant-Man. He says, “Because another very logical question in the movie is, why are you hiring this ex-con to put on your suit and do this? The answer is, because he has abilities in cracking security networks and in pulling off heists that nobody else has. Which is really why he needs to do it. But Hope is infinitely more capable of actually being a superhero in the beginning of this film, and we learn sort of that that’s ultimately when Hank reveals for the first time for the audience, and even the first time to Hope, what actually happened in the past and why he’s so nervous about putting on that suit. But there are things that we see towards the end of the film that indicate she could, she could get one of her own.”
This clearly suggests that Hope will pick up the mantle of The Wasp by the end of the film. Will this be enough to satisfy the bloggers who were calling for blood when they found that The Wasp wouldn’t be a major role in the film? Probably not, but then again there are still people who are upset Scott Lang is Ant-Man instead of Hank Pym.
Janet Van Dyne is a classic character in the Marvel lore. She was a founding Avenger, and there are a group of vocal fans that believe it’s a disservice to her legacy by making her a footnote in the film. However, Marvel clearly has plans for The Wasp, but with Hope in the role.
So far, I like what I’ve seen from the film. A lot of controversy and negative press has plagued Ant-Man in the years leading up to it, but I’m willing to bet that Marvel has another hit on their hands. Ant-Man looks fun and different, and Paul Rudd is very likable. Rudd’s Scott Lang is an interesting character, and he’s more of an “everyman” type of character that the MCU desperately needs amid the assassins, gods, and geniuses making up the bulk of the characters.
Ant-Man will be released on July 17th.
