Ant-Man and the Wasp are going big. The traditionally tiny heroes have a long track record of being an afterthought among fans, with their films often viewed as simple Avengers epilogues or “smaller”, less important entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Paul Rudd‘s large supporting role in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame went a long way in solidifying the size-changer and his cohorts as major Marvel players, but it didn’t do much to change the reputation of his solo franchise. According to director Peyton Reed, this will change with the series’ third film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Reed promised that the movie will not be another “palate cleanser” for the MCU. Instead, the film, which kicks off Phase 5, will match the expectations set by large-scale team-up projects like Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Describing his attitude towards Quantumania, the filmmaker explained:
People felt like, ‘Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic Avengers movie’. For this third one, I said, ‘I don’t want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big Avengers movie.’
Peyton Reed
Reed went on to say he “metaphorically kicked in Kevin Feige’s door” to demand the third Ant-Man adventure be considered very important to the greater MCU. If fans of the legacy character were worried Marvel Studios wasn’t taking him seriously, they can take comfort in knowing Reed is on their side. The director also described how the exciting new setting helps change the tone of the movie and create more “epic“:
In the first one, we introduced the idea of the Quantum Realm, we kind of dipped our toe into it, and then even more so in the second one. But we obviously left a lot of unanswered questions. We wanted to go in a different direction, and create an epic movie where the bulk of it takes place in the Quantum Realm. For me, it was really exciting, because the other two films take place in San Francisco, and this one, we were creating this incredibly complex subatomic world, and all the environments and ecosystems and creatures and beings that inhabit that world.
Peyton Reed
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17th, 2023.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
