When Marvel revealed their Phase 3 plans last year, they gave dates and titles to nine movies. Those dates have shifted once already for the inclusion of Spider-Man, and were moved once again when Ant-Man and the Wasp was announced not long ago. Peyton Reed took over director duties following the fallout between Marvel and Edgar Wright, and he did an excellent job with the story.
It was previously reported that Reed and Marvel were currently negotiating for him to return for the sequel, but based on his recent comments with Yahoo, it’s not finished… yet.
We’re [still] in negotiations, but I think it’s looking pretty good.
When Reed is announced to return, he will be doing so with a realm of possibilities at his disposal.
I think one of the appealing things about coming back for a sequel is to be able to build it from the ground up this time. Also, [there’s] stuff that we clearly set up in the first movie that we want to pay off and have fun with in the second movie. Since we know [the characters’] origins, we can go in some weird, unique and different territory.
The most exciting thing about Ant-Man and the Wasp is the end of the title and Wasp being featured in all her super-heroine glory. This is something that Reed is very interested in exploring in the sequel.
It just happened to be organic for the characters of Ant-Man and Wasp, [so] it worked. Her last line in the movie — ‘It’s about damn time’ — [is] very much about her specific character and arc in that movie, but it is absolutely about a larger thing. It’s about damn time: We’re going to have a fully realized, very very complicated hero in the next movie who happens to be a woman.
Opposite of Wasp will be Paul Rudd back as Ant-Man. We won’t have to wait till the sequel to see him however, as he is set to return in Captain America: Civil War, which is being directed by the Russo brothers. Reed feels a sense of ownership over the character now, and wasn’t overly thrilled with sharing.
There was definitely a point where I was a little envious. I felt a proprietary thing over that character. I remember to say to Paul, ‘You’re going down to Atlanta to work with those other guys?’ It was like my girlfriend had left me for someone else.
Reed also spoke with MTV about the sequel and expanded on why the character of the Wasp is so important, not only in Ant-Man but also moving forward.
That was one of the things that was important to me in the first movie when I came on was emphasizing the Wasp more, both Hope Van Dyne and Janet Van Dyne,” he said. “It’s a crucial part. It’s a crucial part because in the comic books, with the exception of the first handful of Ant-Man stories, Wasp came on pretty early on in the comics in the ’60s and you really thought of them as a partnership, a romantic partnership as well as a hero team. It’s going to be fun to play around with all the aspects of that in this movie.
Wasp will be the first female Marvel superhero to have her name in the title of the film, which just beats Captain Marvel. Reed is hoping that female heroes are more prominent moving forward.
It’s such a no-brainer that there needs to be female heroes. It’s about keeping the stories interesting and having fresh stories to tell. I always like that about Ant-Man and Wasp because it dealt with gender politics as well as superhero stuff. In the comics, particularly in the ’60s comics, the Janet Van Dyne Wasp was clearly written by all men and was pretty one-dimensional. She’s gotten much more dimensionalized since then. That’s one of those things that I think is going to be really exciting and fresh about this movie. You do feel a certain amount of responsibility. At the end of the day it’s organic to that character and the movie.
The Wasp was a great part of Ant-Man and it will definitely be fun to see how her character develops moving forward. With Reed almost certainly returning for Ant-Man and the Wasp, she should be in good hands.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is scheduled to hit theaters July 6, 2018.
