The Marvel Cinematic Universe (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription helped make serialized storytelling into a regular occurrence in the film world, thanks to crossover moments like The Avengers. The next upcoming Marvel movie of this nature is Thunderbolts*, which will bring together a team of villains and antiheroes from the MCU. That includes Ghost, with Hannah John-Kamen explaining a key way they've changed the end of Ant-Man and The Wasp. And as a fan I'm honestly relieved.
What we know about Thunderbolts* is limited, but fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recognize most of the titular team. That includes Ghost, who was the main villain of the second Ant-Man flick. While speaking with The Manila Times, John-Kamen explained a key change to her character the second time around, offering:
The last time you saw her, she was volcanic. She was flickering to death and she was in pain. Now she has control of that. With that, there's a calm, and there's a decisiveness, and there's a powerful breath and beat in that. So yes, you'll see a different Ghost.
Honestly, sign me up. Ava Starr/ Ghost was basically in agony throughout Ant-Man 2, with her body desperately needing Quantum Energy in order for her powers of intangibility. This motivated her villainous actions and also gave the audience a way to empathize with the newcomer. But when she returns as part of the Thunderbolts* cast, she'll seemingly be in control and therefore should have a way different energy. Is it May yet?
I'm definitely feeling more excited about Ghost's return now. It would have been tough to see her once again spend an entire movie suffering from her unique superpowered condition. And that'll also give the actress room to explore more in her performance.
With Ava no longer dying, as well as having full control of her abilities, we should be seeing a very different version of Ghost when Thunderbolts* finally hits theaters. And since she's got a unique set of abilities when compared to the rest of the main cast, I have to assume that she'll be factoring heavily into action sequences. We got a glimpse of this in the Thunderbolts* trailer, where the group fights and take turns trying to use the same knife on each other.
Exactly what happened to Ghost has been a mystery since Ant-Man and The Wasp hit theaters back in 2018. We don't known if she was dusted or not when Thanos snapped away half the galaxy, or exactly what went down with her abilities. While we saw Janet help to ease her pain at the end of that sequel, the specifics of how that all worked were never really explained. So here's hoping Thunderbolts* offers some much-needed exposition for Hannah John-Kamen's character.
All will be revealed when Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2nd. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates.
