Director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man primarily functions as a heist story, but it’s one that also has to step through some of the superhero origin basics. The audience not only has to get to know the characters, but also understand the abilities that they possess. Of course, the upcoming sequel, Ant-Man and The Wasp won’t be saddled with that same kind of exposition, and it’s why the filmmaker behind it feels that he can take it in some bigger and weirder directions.
With Ant-Man coming out on Blu-ray and DVD today, I recently had the pleasure of hopping on the phone for an interview with the film’s director, and while discussing the upcoming sequel discussed how there is a certain narrative freedom that comes with having already established this portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Noting that he’s seen how audiences have responded to particular characters and situations, Reed explained that there is an understanding of how the titular hero works on the big screen and what people want to see. Said the filmmaker,
We know that conceptually Ant-Man works, and that people like the characters, so it does free us up to go some different directions - and we absolutely want to with the second one. I want this movie to be bigger and weirder, and also maintain and increase the intimacy of what’s going on between those characters.
“Bigger,” of course, is an interesting word to use when discussing a shrinking superhero, but “weirder” is most definitely intriguing. Ant-Man actually delivered the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first instance of inter-dimension – as seen when Scott Lang dismantles the regulator on his suit and goes to the Quantum Realm after going subatomic. We’ll get to see even more of this trippy stuff when Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange comes out next year, but there will certainly be plenty of room for it in Ant-Man and The Wasp. After all, it’s been heavily hinted – if not outright said – that Hank Pym’s wife/Hope van Dyne’s mother, Janet van Dyne, is still trapped in what is alternately known as the Microverse. It wouldn’t be a big surprise for any fan to see the sequel go back there with its plot.
Reed told me that the real work starting to hammer out the script for Ant-Man and the Wasp will begin early next year, as the movie begins its long development process that will end on the film’s July 6, 2018 release date… but he also told me a lot more about what fans can expect from the feature. Stay tuned for more, and look for Ant-Man in stores now.
