While the recent Captain America: Civil War trailer showed a lot of cool moments, two of the movie’s participants were missing: Ant-Man and Spider-Man. Compared to the leading heroes, details on the tiny titan and Web-Slinger’s involvement have been light. What we know for certain is that, like the other superheroes, they’ll be drawn into the “war” when the world’s governments pass legislation that will police the actions of the Avengers and other superhumans. Because of this new status quo, the 2016 blockbuster is set to be one of Marvel’s darkest movies yet, these two will be providing some much-needed lightheartedness.
In the midst of the superhero conflict next year, one-half of Captain America: Civil War’s directing duo, Anthony Russo, told Omelete (via Comic Book Movie) that Ant-Man and Spider-Man will provide comic relief when they’re introduced later. He explained:
...not all the characters in the movie have the same investment in the conflict. There are certain characters that come into the story a little later who don’t have the same baggage that the Avengers have in terms of what’s going on in the film. So they don’t have as much darkness to deal with in the film, so they can be a little lighter and more fun. I think the movie has a healthy balance between very serious, interesting and very surprising storytelling, and sort of light, fun wits and humor… characters like Spider-Man and Ant-Man enter the story a little later.
Of all the characters appearing in Captain America: Civil War, it makes sense that these two will be the main sources of comedy. Similar in tone to Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man was one of Marvel’s more humorous movies, with many of its funny moments centered around Scott Lang’s antics. In Spider-Man’s case, he’s famous for his quips and one-liners while fighting bad guys, so we wouldn’t expect his colorful personality to not be at work for his MCU debut, and his solo movie following in 2017.
Scott Lang’s involvement in the event was set up earlier this year in the Ant-Man mid-credits scene. Moviegoers watched Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson find Bucky Barnes with his metal arm trapped in some kind of vice, leading Wilson to suggest they bring in Scott to help them out. Disney’s D23 footage later showed Steve, Sam, and Wanda Maximof finding Scott sleeping in a van, and when the battle between the heroes kicks off, he will be siding with Team Captain America. As for Spider-Man, his exact role in the movie is still being kept under wraps, but as the youngest superhero in the MCU, he’ll be torn between the different ideologies at work, represented by Iron Man and the other Sokovia Accords supporters on one side, and Captain America and his allies on the other side, who are against registering with the powers that be.
We’ll see Ant-Man and Spider-Man in action and bringing the laughs when Captain America: Civil War arrives in theaters on May 6, 2016.
