ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Will Be Primarily About Hope's Search For Her Missing Mother; Plus New Photos
While Ant-Man was essentially a heist film, it sounds like the upcoming sequel will be more of a search and rescue-type thriller as Scott and Hope try to reenter the Quantum Realm to save Janet van Dyne!
After getting sidelined in the first film, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is not taking no for an answer this time around and will definitely be suiting up alongside Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) as the duo embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to save her mother.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, as part of their annual Summer Movie Preview, Lilly spoke on what it means to her to be the first female superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see her name in the title. "It means a lot to me. If I’m honest with myself, I feel a lot of pressure to make sure that it is everything that the world wants it to be.” She also offers some interesting insight into Hope's journey throughout the film, which will primarily be focused on finding and rescuing her mother from an uncertain fate. Lilly explains, “Scott entered the Quantum Realm in the first film and came back, which is something they thought was impossible. The question has arisen, ‘Can Janet come back?’ So the entire film, my character is hell-bent on finding a way to get into the Quantum Realm and bring her back.”
Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp, is played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who returns to the world of comic book movies nearly two-and-a-half decades after stealing the show as Catwoman in 1992's Batman Returns. Like former co-star Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming) before her, Pfeiffer hadn't exactly been keeping tabs on the world of superhero movies, but she quickly learned after signing on for the part. Director Peyton Reed shares, “She hasn’t done one of these films since she played Catwoman with Tim Burton. It was really interesting to bring her in and get her up to speed on all the mythology and her place in this world.”
As for the film's primary antagonist, Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who is quite unlike her typically male comic counterpart, Reed detailed his reasoning behind casting John-Kamen “The Ghost character could be male, female, anything, so it just seemed more interesting to us [to cast a woman]." He continues on to tease her powerset and how she's going to be a major headache for our bite-sized heroes. "Ghost’s primary power is the ability to ‘phase,’ which allows Ghost to move through solid matter. She has all sorts of strange versions of that phasing power — it proves quite difficult for Ant-Man and Wasp to deal with.”
The film will also introduce a few more interesting faces from Marvel lore, including Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), who is being described as a low-level criminal-type, and Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), who is an old colleague of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). While we don't get any details on the extent of their roles, it does sound like Rudd had a good time filming with Fishburne. "He was a blast. He told me what it was like shooting Apocalypse Now and hanging out with Marlon Brando. That was just about the coolest day of work I’ve ever had.”
Check out the two new stills below:
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Ant-Man and the Wasp features:
Director: Peyton Reed
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp
Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym
Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne
Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster
Michael Peña as Luis
T.I. as Dave
David Dastmalchian as Kurt
Bobby Cannavale as Jim Paxton
Judy Greer as Maggie Lang
Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie Lang
Hannah John-Kamen as Dawn/Ghost
Randall Park as Jimmy Woo
Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch
Sean Kleier as Geoffrey Ballard
Ant-Man and the Wasp shrinks into theaters July 6