Ant-Man may be Marvel’s tiniest superhero, but last year he made a big debut on the silver screen. After earning mostly positive reviews and making a solid amount of money, Marvel announced Ant-Man and the Wasp for 2018. As the title suggests, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily will reprise their Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne roles, respectively, and Michael Douglas will likely be back as Hank Pym. Behind the scenes, Peyton Reed will direct again; Rudd, Gabriel Ferrari, and Andrew Barrer were confirmed to pen the sequel; and now we can count on Ant-Man script contributor Adam McKay to return as well.
Adam McKay, writer and director of comedies like Anchorman and Stepbrothers, informed Nerdist at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival he’ll be involved with Ant-Man and the Wasp. In his words:
We’ve been talking to Marvel actually. We just talked to them the other day, and it looks like I will be involved. I don’t know if it’s gonna be right from page one. But it looks like I will definitely be involved. There you go. There’s a little headline for the fanboys!
After original director Edgar Wright departed Ant-Man in May 2014 due to creative differences, Adam McKay entered negotiations to replace him, but dropped out soon afterwards. Instead, he rewrote the screenplay with Paul Rudd, and their changes included adding different characters and new action beats, while also making sure it felt more connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer were later called in to make further revisions, and the result was what moviegoers saw in theaters last July. McKay expressed interest in helping script Ant-Man and the Wasp on several occasions, and now fans can take comfort knowing he’ll be participating to some degree.
With Ant-Man and the Wasp still two years away, details are sparse on what to expect. However, Adam McKay’s return is further indication that Marvel is bringing back much of the creative talent from the first movie to give the sequel a familiar feel. By all accounts, McKay enjoyed working with Marvel the first time, so participating again should be enjoyable for him. It remains to be seen whether McKay will be one of the main group of writers or if he’ll be called in to rewrite it, but he’s already spoken with Paul Rudd about ideas for the movie, so clearly making Ant-Man and the Wasp a good story is important to him.
Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6, 2018, but Marvel fans can see Scott Lang participate in Captain America: Civil War this May. As for Adam McKay, his latest movie, The Big Short, is up for five Academy Awards, with him specifically being nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
