Earlier this summer, just about every major Marvel character graced the screen in Avengers: Infinity War, which boasted the biggest cast of any MCU film. However, there were some tiny exclusions. Ant-Man and the Wasp were nowhere to be seen in Infinity War and while people didn't get as riled up about it as they did Hawkeye, there were still plenty who were upset that the duo was missing out. Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man and the Wasp, was not one of those people, and recently stated that they were left out so that their own movie could stand alone.
Yeah, I mean, listen, I have jealousy issues. Whenever these heroes pop up in movies I'm not involved in I get jealous. It was important to have this movie be a stand-alone thing -- its own beginning, middle, and end -- to be different, tonally, than, obviously, Infinity War. For me, it was really about taking what we had done in the first movie and forwarding those characters in ways that were interesting and hopefully unexpected. And obviously most excited about introducing Wasp.
Even if you were bummed that Ant-Man and the Wasp sat out Infinity War, it's not like you had to wait long to see them in action. Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters in less than a week, and early reactions to the movie are labeling it as a light, fun romp that will leave a smile on your face. That's almost the opposite of Infinity War, which might have left you crying in a corner on the movie theater. It'd be pretty hard for Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne to go from fighting Thanos right into their superhero comedy, which factored into the decision to leave them out in the first place.
In an interview with IGN, Peyton Reed revealed that the shrinking duo wasn't in the Avengers movie so that Ant-Man and the Wasp could be a standalone adventure. The first Ant-Man was fairly standalone from the rest of the MCU, which helped make the movie more refreshing for how low stakes it was. The sequel is following suit and it's part of the charm of this particular franchise. You can always count on having a good time with Ant-Man!
Plus, the sequel had the job of introducing the Wasp to the masses. Doing so in Infinity War likely wouldn't have done the character much justice and she'll get plenty more time to shine in her own movie. Early on in development for Captain America: Civil War, the Wasp was supposed to be involved, but she was cut from the movie for that exact same reason as her exclusion from Infinity War.
You'll finally be able to see both of the characters in Ant-Man and the Wasp, which hits theaters on July 6.
