Peyton Reed Talks ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Title, CIVIL WAR, And FANTASTIC FOUR
Peyton Reed talks here about returning to the director's chair and giving the pint-sized hero and the Wasp equal billing, and he even weighs in on a rough cut of Captain America: Civil War and more.
It's been just over a month since Marvel Studios unexpectedly added Ant-Man and The Wasp to its Phase Three slate. And not too long afterwards, it was reported that Peyton Reed was in talks to return to the director's chair for the 2018 sequel. Now the filmmaker has confirmed that he and the studio are still in negotiations, "but I think it's looking pretty good." Speaking with Yahoo Movies, Reed discussed the Ant-Man sequel's title decision and the size-shifting superhero's appearance in Captain America: Civil War next year, and he also weighed in on the flopped Fantastic Four reboot.
As we all know, before Ant-Man and the Wasp return in 2018, the former will join the Avengers next year in Captain America: Civil War. And to make sure the Russo brothers' plans for Scott Lang are in sync with his, Peyton Reed says that he's read that movie's script and has even seen rough cut footage which he describes as "fantastic!" He also admits to being a bit jealous of Ant-Man working with someone else. "There was definitely a point where I was a little envious," he joked. "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."
Finally, Peyton Reed was asked about the failure that was this year's Fantastic Four reboot, given he was attached to the original movie as director years ago. "Fantastic Four in the comics was always the pinnacle of Marvel, the crown jewel — they were the first family of Marvel Comics," Reed explained. "The two existing versions did massive pendulum swings from each other. One was very pitched toward younger kids and very broad, and the second was a much darker version of it. I just personally feel like they have not gotten the tone right. And man, it's a bummer. I think the tone has got to be one of optimism, and you've got to take it seriously." As for what else the Fantastic Four films so far have gotten wrong, Reed says, "I think they haven't really gotten Mr. Fantastic's powers right visually on screen." He continued, "I think there's some really badass ways to make that [character] work. I just know there's a great Fantastic Four movie to be had. I'm convinced that it can work." And even though he'd love to direct a Fantastic Four movie someday, right now he's focused on doing Ant-Man justice on the big-screen. What do you think?
Starring Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne), and potentially Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Ant-Man and the Wasp is directed by Peyton Reed and hits theaters on July 6, 2016.