10 years ago, Paul Rudd may not have been on a lot of lists to portray a Marvel superhero. After making a name for himself in 1995’s Clueless, the actor had a great run of comedies in the early 2000s with memorable supporting roles in Anchorman, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I Love You, Man. Then, in 2015, Rudd debuted as Scott Lang, who has become one of the MCU’s greatest heroes. A lot has changed for Rudd–and Lang–since then and now he’s back for another go around as the MCU’s most everyman hero in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
As Quantumania begins, Lang and his family look to have put their superhero days behind them. Since the events of Avengers: Endgame, Lang has published, Look Out for the Little Guy, a memoir of his time in the suit. Memoirs require reflection and thus, during the global press event for the upcoming entry in the Ant-Man franchise, Rudd was asked to reflect on his time as Lang and about what he likes (and dislikes) the most about the character.
Well, I think what I like most about him is that he is a regular guy who has reservations about all of this, still. And that, you know, he’s just a dad. I like the fact that he is kind of a part of this group with some pretty impressive people, and superheroes, and that he would be the first guy to say, “What the hell am I doing here? This makes no sense at all.”
Paul Rudd
Rudd’s words certainly call to mind his first encounter with Captain America and the Avengers during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Lang’s superheroing has mostly gotten in the way of his best intentions with his daughter, Cassie, and his relationship with her has been at the core of the Ant-Man franchise. That relationship has drawn fans to the franchise and, unsurprisingly, is part of what Rudd enjoys the most about the character.
And, you know, he’s a real person. And so you want to play, I mean, as an actor, somebody who is relatable and hopefully a sympathetic person. And somebody that, you know, you understand maybe what they’re going through. And I like that. I like playing the father aspect. I like playing the, trying to, you know, wrap my brain around the situation that I find myself in. So his human quality is the thing that I like the most. And as opposed to probably his cyborg quality, which is the, you know, the part I don’t like. No, there’s nothing about the character that I don’t. I like the guy. Yeah. I mean, I’m biased, I guess, but yeah.
Paul Rudd
Rudd’s joke aside, Lang has become one of the MCU’s most lovable characters making it no surprise that Marvel Studios has already begun talking about a fourth Ant-Man film. That film is certainly a ways off given the studio’s already jam-packed slate, but it seems Rudd has more to offer the character before bowing out of the shared cinematic universe.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania debuts in theaters on February 17th.
