When Marvel Studios released Ant-Man in 2015, it featured Scott Lang as the MCU's main shrinking superhero. He was the second Ant-Man in the comics, and Hank Pym's retirement after holding the mantle during the Cold War was a new concept created for the MCU.
While Paul Rudd's Ant-Man has earned a legion of fans, some were—and still are—understandably unhappy that a founding Avenger was relegated to a supporting character status in what should have been his franchise.
A big part of the reason for the change was that Marvel Studios spent years waiting for Edgar Wright to helm Ant-Man (meaning Hank couldn't appear in The Avengers alongside The Wasp), only to run into "creative differences" when the time came for cameras to roll. In that version of the movie, Hank would have become the villainous Black Ant.
Instead, he's served as a mentor to Scott over the years and eventually reunited with Janet Van Dyne when she was freed from the Quantum Realm. Hank didn't really bring much to the table in the poorly received Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, and actor Michael Douglas has reiterated that his time in the MCU is over.
"I don’t think so," he said when asked by Deadline whether he'd do another MCU movie. "I had the experience, and I was excited to do it. I’d never done a green screen picture before."
"I did the The Kominsky Method because I wanted to work with Chuck Lorre and try some comedy. But I’m enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life. It was overwhelming running the production company and acting at the same time."
Despite that, Douglas hasn't retired from acting. "Yes, [I will act again] if something good comes up that I really like. But I don’t feel a burning desire. I’m still producing. I still love bringing people together."
While the door doesn't appear to be completely closed, it doesn't sound like Douglas has much interest in playing Hank again. This comes as Avengers: Doomsday has started production in the UK; while Rudd is set to appear, Evangeline Lilly has retired from acting, and it seems the hero will have to go it alone without her, Hank, or Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet Van Dyne.
Last year, the legendary actor revealed that he wanted to be killed off in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
"This actually was my request for the third one. I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects. There’s got to be some fantastic way where I can shrink to an ant size and explode, whatever it is," Douglas said at the time. "I want to use all those effects. But, that was on the last one. Now, I don’t think I’m going to show up."
This isn't the first time Douglas has alluded to being unhappy with his character being left alive, as he previously said he'll only return for another Ant-Man movie "as long as [he] could die." Unfortunately, the critical and commercial response to Quantumania makes that highly unlikely, and it's doubtful that there's a place for his demise in the next Avengers movies.
Let us know your thoughts on Douglas' remarks in the comments section below.