Before English actor Dominic Cooper took on the role of Iron Man's father, Howard Stark, in the 1940s setting of Captain America: The First Avenger and the Agent Carter spin-off TV series, Mad Men alum John Slattery portrayed an older 1970s iteration of the character in Iron Man 2. With Slattery set to reprise the role later this year in Ant-Man, the actor talked recently talked with IGN about returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after all its success post-Iron Man 2. "It’s crazy, yeah," he said. "It’s the biggest set I’ve ever seen, I think, or I’ve ever been on certainly. It’s just a gigantic room and there’s numbers and girders and you think, is that what green screen looks like? And things change so fast. The way you did special effects last year can be completed outmoded in three months when they figure out some other way of generating some image. But yeah it certainly has become like it’s an industry. Marvel is just this unbelievable force now.”
When asked if Dominic Cooper's portrayal of Howard Stark had any influence on his performance in the upcoming Ant-Man movie, John Slattery replied: "No, I haven’t watched any of it. It took me two years to watch my own [Iron Man 2]. Well no, that’s not true. I’ve seen scenes and I’ve seen him in other things and he’s terrific. I’ve never met him and I’m not a very knowledgeable fan. I’m sure people have, 'How dare he play this when Dominic…?!' I don’t really get into that so much. My participation hasn’t been that involved. I was there for a day and whenever we did Iron Man 2, it was not that much more involved this time." Anyhow, John Slattery is expected to appear in flashacks possibly alongside Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) that will ultimately help tie Ant-Man into the MCU already established. 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