Tag: Ant-Man and The Wasp

Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ Might Have an Egghead After All

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on November 16, 2017.

It’s been a while since we’ve churned out a Connecting the Imaginary Dots feature, but this seems like the right time for one. For those of you that haven’t read these before, we’re basically taking a piece of information, making some deductions and taking an educated guess at something. We have no inside info; this isn’t a scoop; it’s just as likely to be wrong as it is right.

We like doing this, not because we sometimes get them right, but because it gives us a chance to tell you something you may not already know and then let our fanboy imagination run wild. So let’s get to it, shall we. First of all, here’s the bit of information that got us all started; it appears that actor Michael Cerveris may have joined the cast of Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp! You may recognize Cerveris from his role as The Observer on Fringe or from his recent work on The Tick. The IMDB listing (yes, we know it can be totally wrong, that’s why this is a Connecting Imaginary Dots piece) for Ant-Man and The Wasp was recently updated and lists Kent De Mond as a stunt performer for Cerveris:

Operating under the assumption that De Mond jumped the gun in updating his own profile and Cerveris is in the film, we started considering who someone like Cerveris, a VERY singular looking man, could be playing in the film. We reached out to our source to confirm, but at the time of publication, we had not been able to get word.

To be honest, it didn’t take a lot of deliberation to settle on Elihas Starr, aka Egghead. A genius-level atomic scientist, Starr was caught smuggling government plans with the intent to sell them. From there, Starr went on to begin his career as a villain in the service of the criminals who helped him out of prison. Starr first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38 and for most of his time in the comics served as an antagonist to Hank Pym. While much of the plot of the film is still being kept secret, we could see room for a genius like Starr to be in the film working to take on the Ant-Man team.

There really aren’t a lot of great, iconic Ant-Man villains (are there any?) but Egghead would have to be counted among them, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see Reed add him to the film. While you might ask, “Why didn’t we see him in any of the character breakdowns/casting calls?”, that’s actually pretty normal. For a character actor like Cerveris, it’s possible that Reed either had him in mind from the beginning, or picked him from a small group that didn’t require an auditioning process. Either way, we could definitely see Cerveris in the role and hope we hit this nail on the (egg)head.

Source: IMDB

November 16, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: Details on Hannah John-Kamen’s Role & Luis’ New Love Interest in ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ Revealed

Notes: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy at MCU Exchange on June 28, 2017.

The cast of Ant-Man and The Wasp will be heading to Atlanta to begin filming soon, but very little is known about who will be joining the returning stars from the first film. One addition is actress Hannah John-Kamen, who joined the cast earlier this month in an unspecified role. Thanks to a source with knowledge of the production of the film, we were able to get a little more info on the role!

Kamen will be portraying a character named Dawn. Though the exact nature of Dawn’s role was not revealed, she is described as charismatic, eccentric, unpredictable and damaged. It’s not clear if Dawn is a new character created for the film or if she is adapted from the comics; while there are several characters named Dawn from which to draw in the comics, none of them seem to have a rich history as a supporting character in any Ant-Man stories. A character named Dawn Starr does catch the attention of fans of the comics who recognize the last name as the same one as Hank Pym’s nemesis Egghead, or Elihas Starr. However, Dawn and Elihas were not related in the comics, though Marvel Studios could certainly find a way to make that change if they wanted, so we can’t exactly settle on her.

Kamen’s Dawn is one of 3 female roles added to the sequel, joining the yet to be cast Janet van Dyne and one more surprise role. While the role may well be cast at this point, we can tell you that the studio was searching for a Latino actress for the role of Victoria, who will join the cast as the love interest for Michael Pena’s Luis. Described as a bit of a “loose cannon”, Victoria will be a part of the film’s comic relief but is also described as tough and smart with a “dangerous edge.”

With production beginning soon, possibly as soon as this Friday, we can expect some confirmation on these roles soon along with some other additions to the cast. Ant-Man and The Wasp will hit theaters July 6, 2018.

What do you think of these new casting details for Ant-Man and the Wasp? Excited that a new character is being added to the Three Wombats? Let us know in the comments below!

June 28, 2017
5 Things To Explore In An ‘Ant-Man’ Sequel

This article was originally published by Charles Murphy at MCU Exchange on July 27, 2015.

Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man has been a hit with critics and audiences. While it’s opening weekend box office gross didn’t match up with its predecessors, it is making plenty of money globally having taken in over $133M in it’s first 7 days, meaning it’s already out-grossed its production budget. While we know that Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is going to appear in next year’s Captain America: Civil War and that Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne will appear again at some point, the studios has yet to greenlight an Ant-Man sequel. Director Peyton Reed seeded the film with multiple ideas that could be explored in future films (and the MCU at large), leading to all sorts of speculation among the team here at the MCU Exchange. Here are 5 things we thought we’d like to see explored in a Payton Reed directed Ant-Man sequel.

Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp

This one is as obvious as they come. Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne spent the entirety of Ant-Man being kept away from her destiny. Only in the mid-credit stinger did she finally get some satisfaction when her father, Dr. Hank Pym, revealed the suit he and his wife, Janet van Dyne, had been working on. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige has since revealed that while the plan was originally to have Hope reappear in Captain America: Civil War, they’ve now rethought when we’ll first see her don the suit.

Audiences have really seemed to like Scott Lang, but the partnership between him and Hope was under explored. While it will be great to see them both in action at some point in the future, we’d love to see Hope (in a redesigned Wasp suit) and Scott in some size-changing adventures in an Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel (my title, not theirs). Hope van Dyne is, for all intents and purposes, an open book. She isn’t based directly on any existing comic book character (though there is a Hope Pym in an alternate universe), so Lilly can make this character her own. HOPEfully we get to see that happen.

Hank Pym’s Search for Janet van Dyne

Throughout the film, Hank Pym gave us bits of information about why his wife, Janet van Dyne, was MIA. While working together for S.H.I.E.L.D., Janet seemingly made the ultimate sacrifice to stop a warhead from striking American soil. According to Hank, despite knowing the dangers of doing so, Janet turned off her regulator and shrunk beyond the point of no return. Hank goes on to state that Janet became lost in the Quantum Realm, a place from which he believed there was no return…until Scott Lang proved him wrong in the film’s climax.

Director Peyton Reed hinted that audiences should keep their eyes peeled while Scott was in the Quantum Realm, leading many to believe that we might catch a glimpse of Janet. Eagle-eyed viewers have claimed to notice a shadow in the background and though it’s nearly impossible to be sure, it is entirely feasible that it’s her. As Ant-Man closed, we saw Hank Pym seemingly rejuvenated in his desire to continue his search for the wife he believed lost. A sequel with parallel stories of Scott and Hope working together in this dimension while Hank searches for Janet in the Quantum Realm could be the kind of heavy science-fiction fare that could help Marvel Studios continue their expansion into multiple genres.

The only times we saw Janet in the film her face was obscured by some headgear, leaving future casting of the Winsome Wasp wide open. Michael Douglas has expressed his desire to see his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in the role and Evangeline Lilly recently went on record naming Michelle Pfeiffer her favorite. Here’s to hoping we get to see anyone cast as Janet so we can see her and Hank, two founding Avengers in the comics, on screen together for more than a flashback.

More 80’s Ant-Man and Wasp

Speaking of flashbacks, Marvel has to find some way to fill in the further adventures of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. For comic book fans, the little bit of Ant-Man and Wasp action seen in the film and the flashback scenes of a young Hank Pym were just a tease. While we want to see Hank searching for his wife in the present day, it’s damn near mandatory that we get more of Hank and Janet in their primes.

As I first hypothesized back in April of 2014, Hank Pym’s place in the MCU timeline saw him working alongside Howard Stark and Peggy Carter (and it’s still open to argument that he may have worked with robo-Zola and the treacherous Alexander Pierce. While the shrinking effects are too pricey for TV, there has to be somewhere that the adventures of Hank and Janet can be further explored.

HYDRA’s Pym Particles

Something easily forgotten in the film’s climax was that Mitch Carson, played by Martin Donovan, hit the bricks with a vial of Darren Cross’ Pym Particles. Given that Carson, a long-time Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., was revealed as a HYDRA mole, that’s probably not good news for the MCU.

We know HYDRA, though greatly reduced, still exists in the MCU. Grant Ward seems to be a big player on the TV side of things, but we are about to meet someone who is likely an even bigger part of the evil organization: Baron Zemo. One of our favorite, crazy theories around here is that Captain America: Civil War will either introduce or lead to the formation of the Thunderbolts, a team of super-villains, led by Zemo, who originally seem to be helping out only to be revealed as the baddies they are. One member of that team, Erik Josten, a former Marine under Zemo’s employ who eventually uses Pym Particles under the alias of Goliath. Scott Lang seemed to have cracked the ability to grow in Ant-Man’s 3rd act, opening the doorway for him to to appear as Giant-Man at some point in the future. The shrinking effects in Ant-Man gave us the opportunity to see some pretty intense fight scenes; it’s easy to get excited about the prospects of seeing Lang (or maybe Michael Pena’s Luis!!) and Josten go toe-to-toe as giants.

Of course there’s another option as to how HYDRA could use the Pym Particles. In the comics there was a third Ant-Man, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. named Eric O’Grady. Given the shortened timeline of the MCU, it’s doubtful we’d see Scott Lang replaced so quickly by O’Grady. However, given HYDRA’s continued hold over S.H.I.E.L.D. (as demonstrated by Agent Carson), maybe we could see an Eric O’Grady with a little different backstory. It’s entirely within the realm of possibilities that O’Grady could be a HYDRA mole working under Carson and uses the Pym Particles and a new suit to be a thorn in the side of Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne. The character of O’Grady, thought dead, is slated to co-lead a new Illuminati book in the All-New, All-Different Marvel comics universe under the name the Black Ant. Maybe that’s in preparation for an upcoming villainous role or maybe it’s not.

Marvel Studios does love exploring villains with the same powers as their heroes so though it’s possible that Carson’s confiscation of the Pym Particles never leads to anything, it might be handy for HYDRA to have a size changer or two of their own. It’s not too far-fetched to imagine The Astonishing Ant-Man (our title, not theirs) seeing HYDRA teaming up with AIM to put Josten, O’Grady or both in the way of our heroes.

Ant-Man’s Rogues

Ant-Man does not have the greatest collection of arch-enemies, however, while he’s not going up against Spider-Man’s gallery, there are plenty of villains that could pose some problems for the team of Pym, Lang and van Dyne. If not Josten and/or O’Grady, who else could cause trouble for our heroes?

If Marvel Studios does not wish to explore more size-changing villains in the sequel, there are a few directions in which they could go. Given Hank Pym’s deep scientific genius, it would certainly be possible that we could see the reappearance (and hopefully a good one) of Aldrich Killian’s A.I.M. While the A.I.M. we saw in Iron Man 3 was nowhere near the hive of scientists comic fans know it to be, an Ant-Man sequel could see the company restructured under Elihas Starr, the comic book villain known as Egghead. His scientific genius, specifically in the atomic (maybe sub-atomic) realm, could lead to conflict.

Of course it’s hard to talk about A.I.M without bringing up everyone’s favorite oddity, M.O.D.O.K. It’s difficult to imagine a way in which whatever M.O.D.O.K. is could appear in something as reality-based as the MCU, if there’s a chance it would have to revolve around the work of A.I.M. Though he wasn’t necessarily a main antagonist of either Hank Pym nor Scott Lang, seeing him brought to the big screen in a science-based Ant-Man sequel would be thrilling.

If A.I.M. presents itself in a sequel, it’s likely they’ll need some muscle to help them out. We can think of nobody we’d like to see in that role more than Taskmaster. Despite some uncertainty about his film rights, Taskmaster is the ultimate A.I.M. henchman and presents such a unique type of villain that the types of fight scenes Marvel Stuidos could put together makes for some exciting speculation.

July 27, 2015