“Ant-Man” is done being overlooked, according to “Quantumania” director Peyton Reed.
Following the 2018 sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” the upcoming Marvel installment ushers in Phase 5 of the MCU, firmly giving Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) the biggest impact on the franchise.
“People felt like, ‘Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic “Avengers” movie,’” Reed told Entertainment Weekly of the prior two “Ant-Man” films. “For this third one, I said, ‘I don’t want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big “Avengers” movie.’ We wanted to go in a different direction, and create an epic movie where the bulk of it takes place in the Quantum Realm.”
Along with Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Michael Douglas reprise their respective roles. Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Rudd’s daughter. Bill Murray is set to take on a “crucial” character as well.
“Quantumania” also ushers in a new dynasty: the Kang Dynasty, to be exact. Jonathan Majors plays the shape-shifting villain after appearing as a variant of the character in Disney+ series “Loki.”
“I grew up a real Marvel comics nerd, and there are a handful of antagonists in the Marvel comics universe who are all-timers,” director Reed said. “Loki, obviously. Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four. And Kang the Conqueror. In conversations with Kevin Feige and Marvel, it was like, I want to put Ant-Man and Wasp up against a really formidable villain in this movie, and so we’re doing Kang the Conqueror. In the comics, Kang has dominion over time, he’s a time traveler.”
He continued, “His situation is a little bit different in this movie, which I won’t spoil for you, but he’s someone who, [while] we live very linear lives, from childhood to death, Kang doesn’t exist that way. It struck me as interesting to take the tiniest Avengers — in some people’s minds maybe the least powerful Avengers — and put them up against the most powerful force in the multiverse.”
Post-“Quantumania,” Kang will take center stage with “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” helmed by “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton. “Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania” screenwriter Jeff Loveness will write the script. The film is set for a May 2025 release, launching Phase 6 of the MCU.
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