There is nothing the internet likes more than an intriguing rumor. And, even though folks typically fixate on things like celebrity romances, surprising divorces, scandals, and potential pregnancies, everyone who loves the frequently uber-secretive world of the MCU enjoys a good, old-fashioned casting rumor. Now, Emmy-winning Schitt’s Creek mastermind / star Dan Levy has responded to those rumors that he’s joining Ant-Man 3.
If you missed the hubbub, at the end of July a photo was posted to Twitter by famed London chef Asma Khan, which showed Dan Levy enjoying a meal with Ant-Man himself, the ageless Paul Rudd, at her restaurant, Darjeeling Express. This threw the interwebs into quite the tizzy, with many people assuming this must have been a meeting about Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, seeing as how filming on the upcoming blockbuster had recently begun. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, though, Levy was asked about the photo, and said:
The downside of having dinner with Paul Rudd is that the internet, in this case, went wild with a conversation that included: Paul Rudd looks so much younger than Dan Levy, they must be best friends, and Dan is in talks to be in Ant-Man. And the answer is: I wish I was best friends with him, not true, not in Ant-Man, and he also looks much younger than me. So it's kind of a lose-lose, other than the fact that you're having dinner with Paul Rudd, which is a win-win.
Well, it’s pretty clear that having his photo with Rudd make so much news really brought up a lot of things for Levy, isn’t it? I can only imagine that he probably didn’t think that anyone would read much of anything into him just dining with a fellow performer, as he still seems pretty shocked by the response the photo got.
First of all, it would seem that Levy will not be a part of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as he didn’t hem or haw when saying he wasn’t going to be in the new movie. Of course, we’ve been tricked before in these Marvel casting matters, but when someone has joined the MCU, they generally don’t outright say “I’m not in the movie,” but tend to respond with something closer to, “Hey, I heard that, too! Crazy, right?” like Jonathan Majors did in the fall of 2020, when asked if he was going to play Kang the Conqueror. And, obviously, he did end up doing that, for Loki (basically) as well as Ant-Man 3.
However, it should be noted that Levy only said he wasn’t going to be “in” the movie. Obviously, this is my Marvel casting conspiracy brain at work here, but that wording would allow for Levy to voice a character, or maybe do some motion-capture performance and still be telling us the truth, so...make of that what you will.
Secondly, as Levy noted, at least one aspect of the conversation that erupted around the picture was less than generous to him, and that is the idea that, to many people, Rudd (who is 52) looks many years younger than the 38-year-old Levy. While that would probably be a not great thing to hear, Levy seems to have taken it in stride by agreeing with that opinion, and even later saying, “Look at his face! I look like a 92-year old man beside him!” Oh, Dan. We love you.
Dan Levy may have experienced a bit of a “lose-lose” situation after the picture of him having dinner with Paul Rudd started the Ant-Man rumors, but as he also said, it’s Paul Rudd, you guys. He’s a delight, so spending time with the man ends up being a wonderful “win-win,” regardless.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is due in theaters on February 17th, 2023, but we have plenty of other films, including other upcoming Marvel movies, due between now and then. So, take a look at our list of 2021 movies and the 2022 new movie releases to tide yourself over!
