We just recently found out that Marvel is going to go small one more time with Ant-Man and the Wasp, but they’re not wasting any time getting the ball rolling. Even though that film doesn’t open until 2018, it looks like the superhero studio already has its eye on a director, and it’s a familiar face.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel is already getting down to business on the just-announced film, and they’re in negotiations to bring back director Peyton Reed for Ant-Man and the Wasp. If that name rings a bell, that’s because Reed was responsible for helming Ant-Man this past summer.
The fact that Marvel wants to bring Reed back shouldn’t come as a huge shocker to those of you who have been paying attention. After taking over for Edgar Wright, who had been working to develop Ant-Man for multiple years, Reed’s time at the helm seemed to go quite smooth, his vision for the character appeared to jibe with what the studio was after, and the two sides feel like they had a solid working relationship.
With a background directing comedies like Yes Man, The Break-Up, and Bring It On, as well as episodic television like New Girl and Upright Citizens Brigade, Reed certainly helped deliver something different from the standard MCU superhero saga. Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, and star Paul Rudd were all given writing credits on the first film, and while there’s no word on who will handle to scripting duties next time out, at least Wright and Cornish aren’t going to be back.
Though Ant-Man will show up next year in Captain America: Civil War, along with damn near every other character on Marvel’s cinematic roster, including some key new additions, it wasn’t certain that the world’s smallest hero would get another crack at a solo movie. Ant-Man was a hit, but a modest one by Marvel standards, earning $178 million stateside. Though it earned generally favorable reviews, it was one of the comic book juggernaut’s lowest grossing films to date.
The movie performed well overseas, however, where it has currently earned almost $276 million. This includes a recent opening of more than $43 million in China, which marks the second biggest debut in that territory for a Disney and Marvel release. With a smaller scale and budget than some of its contemporaries, it looks like the studios want to build on this momentum, as well as Civil War, and give the diminutive superhero his very own franchise moving into Phase 3 and beyond.
We’ll see Ant-Man next year when Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016, and again when Ant-Man and the Wasp opens on July 6, 2018.
