Even after the memorable showdown of Captain America: Civil War, director Peyton Reed has stressed that he wants to keep Scott Lang and the Ant-Man character in their “own little corner of the universe.” That universe, of course, being Marvel’s lucrative juggernaut.
Looking ahead to the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Reed spoke with Moviefone regarding the 2018 sequel. When asked if Ant-Man 2 will incorporate more elements of the MCU now that moviegoers have become acquainted with the character of Scott Lang, the filmmaker revealed that he doesn’t foresee a scenario in which Paul Rudd’s next adventure will become cluttered with cameos and other narrative baggage.
In an ideal situation, that line of thinking should allow Ant-Man and the Wasp to retain the offbeat, slightly zany feel of its forebear, and given Rudd’s everyday hero is just an Average Joe who gained access to an incredibly powerful suit, that’s something we welcome with open arms.
Per Moviefone:
No, I think we like our little Ant-Man corner of the universe. Because it’s a whole different vibe tonally, but also just in terms of who Scott Lang, who Ant-Man is: he is a guy who is maybe not so sure he wants to be like this Avenger-style, full-on superhero. He’s got a kid, and this is the inner conflict with him, and he’s very much just like a normal guy who has come into contact with some incredible power. So, we like that aspect of kind of like it being its own little corner of the universe.
On the topic of Evangeline Lilly, who has booked her spot in the as-yet-untitled Avengers 4, Reed went on to tease what’s next for Hope van Dyne.
After Ant-Man, now we get to see Wasp, so really designing her look, the way she moves, the power set, and figuring out, sort of, who Hope van Dyne is as a hero — because we know her in a certain context in the first movie, but now she’s going to have her coming out party — that’s exciting!
Pre-production on the sequel is due to begin very soon indeed, with the director teasing that the creative team is currently “playing with a lot of ideas, and we’re coming up with some crazy stuff! We’re in the writing phase right now and we start official prep this month.”
Ant-Man and the Wasp is booked in for July 6, 2018.