Michael Douglas And ANT-MAN Director Discuss SPOILERS On 'The Wasp' And End-Credits Tags
In this somewhat revealing video interview, the director and star of Ant-Man, Peyton Reed and Michael Douglas, discuss the two after-credits scenes and fate of the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne.
Given the embargo on Ant-Man reviews was lifted earlier this week and the movie is just a week away, Digital Spy has posted portion of its spoiler-y chat with director Peyton Reed and star Michael Douglas. The video interview is not too revealing, but it does touch on the fate of the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, the Microverse, and the post-credits scenes. You've been warned.
Peyton Reed was first asked was there more with the original Ant-Man and the Wasp when Edgar Wright was in the director's chair. "There was actually less," revealed the director. "I think in the original drafts, she wasn't in them. I think there was maybe one mention of her in the early drafts, but as a fan of the comics and of the dynamic between Ant-Man and Wasp, I wanted her to be a presence in the movie somehow. I wasn't sure how, we had to figure it out in the writing. But I really like where we ended up because it's really an organic thing to the story. It really sort of informs who Hope [Van Dyne] (Evangeline Lilly) is and what her dilemma with her father is. And it really informs Hank's character."
Janet Van Dyne is believed to be dead in Ant-Man, but Reed was then asked if there's a possibility that she could still be alive somewhere. "There's always Hope," he said, with no pun intended. "Absolutely. If you watch the movie again, and when Scott [Lang] enters the Quantum Realm (or the Microverse), keep a keen eye out [because] there might be some clues in that sequence."
Should the original Wasp somehow return in an Ant-Man sequel, Michael Douglas was asked who he'd like to see portray the character given we only get a closeup of her eyes in this movie. "Maybe my wife Catherine [Zeta-Jones]," said the two-time Oscar-winning actor. "We're always looking for something to do together." On the possiblity of a sequel or a future appearance in a different Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, Douglas says the studio has not informed him of anything solid. "Without giving it away, there are certain things in the end-credits... that give some suggestion about Paul's Ant-Man and Evangeline, and where they might be going."
It's no secret that Scott Lang will return in Captain America: Civil War, so it's no huge surprise that Ant-Man's post-credits scene is an actual clip from the "Phase 3" movie. And as for the mid-credits scene, it suggests that Hope Van Dyne will take up the Wasp mantle. "I directed the [tag] with Hank and Hope," said Reed of the scene that appears before the credits roll. "That was always a crucial part of our movie, and that scene is really the completion of her arc in the movie."
Regarding the scene that appears after the credits, Peyton Reed reveals that he and Marvel initially "Played around with what we were gonna do." He added, "We cut some different tags. They were mostly non sequiturs, mostly comedic things with Paul Rudd and Michael Pena, but we really had sort of done that at the end of the movie. And then when dailies started coming in for Civil War, it occurred to us that we had set some things in motion in our movie that would be great to... There was a scene that we looked at in the dailies that was cut - it was all raw footage. And Kevin Feige and I were talking about 'this might be a cool thing to put at the end of the movie' and then go to the title card 'Ant-Man will return' in true James Bond fashion. That really appealed to us, and it felt in keeping with the heist tone of the movie." What do you think?
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world. Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, David Dastmalchian, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Abby Ryder Fortson, Judy Greer, Wood Harris John Slattery and Gregg Turkington with multi-hyphenate T.I., and the film opens July 17, 2015