With each passing year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe grows in prominence, and it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. But as the web of celluloid becomes more intricate, introducing new threads and characters into the fray, it becomes difficult to track all of the goings-on within the studio’s astute masterplan.
It’s for this reason that, as expectations and box office receipts rise and rise, a new property is met with a degree of apprehension. And just like Guardians of the Galaxy before it, Peyton Reed’s upcoming Ant-Man origin film has raised its fair share of eyebrows. How will the tone of the superhero flick go down with the audience? How much of a connection will it have with the grand, overarching MCU? Marvel may not be able to answer the former predicament until Reed’s project debuts in July, but the studio’s Kevin Feige tackled the latter question head on in an interview with /Film.
By arriving betwixt Avengers: Age of Ultron and the much-anticipated Captain America: Civil War, there’s a considerable amount of pressure resting on Ant-Man‘s minute shoulders, but Feige assured fans that the Paul Rudd-led heist movie is the perfect transition between Phases Two and Three.
It’s not [an after thought]. The truth is the phases mean a lot to me and some people but…Civil War is the start of Phase Three. It just is. And Ant-Man is a different kind of culmination of Phase Two because it very much is in the MCU.
You meet new characters and you learn about Hank Pym and his lineage with the MCU over the years. But at the same time, it also picks up the thread of Age of Ultron in terms of heroes – major heroes, Avengers – coming from unexpected places. Whether it’s prison in the case of Scott Lang or being a very disgruntled Sokovian Twins as Wanda and Pietro are in Age of Ultron. And in that way it connects a lot.
Also, Hank Pym’s attitude towards Avengers, towards S.H.I.E.L.D, and kind of the cinematic universe in general, is much more informed after the events of Age of Ultron, and in a certain way, before the events of Civil War.
Ant-Man will debut in theaters on July 17. If you are yet to catch the latest full-length trailer, you can do so here.