SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains possible Ant-Man spoilers. If you're avoiding any big details about the upcoming Marvel Studios film, please click away to one of our other wonderful articles!
Marvel’s premiere shrinking superhero will finally get his first live-action adventure when Ant-Man hits theaters later this year. Paul Rudd will be playing the titular hero Scott Lang, while Michael Douglas will play Hank Pym, the man who created the shrinking technology. Although Hank was the first Ant-Man in the comics, this incarnation has been primarily labeled as Scott’s mentor and Hope Van Dyne’s father - but if a new product preview is accurate, the MCU’s Hank may also get to suit up as the tiny crimefighter in the summer blockbuster.
This weekend, Movie Pilot snapped a few pictures of the LEGO Superheroes Ant-Man set that was on display at the New York Toy Fair. Characters included in the box include Scott Lang as Ant-Man, Darren Cross as Yellowjacket, a giant ant, and Hank Pym... but in Hank’s case, this isn’t a figure that looks liked a little Michael Douglas wearing a suit and working in a lab. This is a Hank Pym fully suited up as Ant-Man.
So does this mean that we could see two Ant-Men fighting side-by-side in the July blockbuster? Not necessarily. First off, keep in mind that manufacturers love to make toys featuring characters, costumes, vehicles and costumes that don’t show up in the film itself. In the case of LEGO sets, the scenes seen on the box may not reflect a scene the characters find themselves in during the story. LEGO may just be throwing in a costumed Hank Pym so the people buying the sets have two Ant-Men to team together.
Secondly, even if we do see Hank as Ant-Man, it may not be in the present-day. It’s worth pointing out that the LEGO Hank Pym figure does resemble the suit Hank is wearing in the two-issue prequel comic book series Marvel’s Ant-Man Prelude, so this costume clearly wasn’t just thought up for the LEGO set. That being said, previous reports have implied that Hank Pym has left his superhero career far behind. Actor Michael Douglas said last year that his costume will be hung up during the movie, leaving Paul Rudd as the sole shrinking superhero in the present timeline. We may just see his younger self suited up in a flashback or footage from previous decades
Let’s assume for a moment that Hank does put on the Ant-Man suit in the present, though. Under what circumstances would that happen? It would likely be to assist his protege. If Yellowjacket proves to be too challenging for Scott to defeat on his own, perhaps Hank will dust off his Ant-Man suit and assist Scott in taking down the bad guy for the climactic battle scene. If one Ant-Man isn’t enough, two Ant-Men might be called for to get the job done.
If you’re interested in purchasing the LEGO Ant-Man set, it will be available in June for $19.99. Ant-Man will hit theaters on July 17th.
