Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
Starring Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne / The Wasp), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet Van Dyne), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr / The Ghost), Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie Lang), Lawrence Fishburne (Bill Foster), Michael Pena (Luis), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Tip Harris (Dave), Walton Goggins (Sonny Birch), Judy Greer (Maggie), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton), and Randall Park (Jimmy Woo) with a special appearance by Stan Lee
Directed by Peyton Reed
Produced by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard
Written by Chris McKeena, Erik Somers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari
Music By Christophe Beck
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Run Time: 1 hour and 58 minutes
World Premier: June 25, 2018, the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California
Opening Weekend Box Office: $76 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $622 million
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Memorable Ant-Man and The Wasp Quotes
“Reading the Marvel comics as a kid, Ant-Man and The Wasp were a duo: the original Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. And that really seemed like the obvious next step to us in the [story] process. We knew that we had set up this storyline with Hope Van Dyne, and [we therefore] put her as front and center as Ant-Man in [Ant-Man and The Wasp.]” – Peyton Reed
“I love the fact that Scott Lang is really the everyman in the MCU. He’s not a brilliant scientist or a billionaire or a god or any of these things. He’s a pretty average person. I love that it came up in Endgame that he plays such a pivotal role in that movie. That’s part of what I love about the overall [MCU] storytelling. And I think that mirrors the comics in that the guy that seems like a minor player in the game turns out to be so important.” – Peyton Reed
“For us, [the 2018 Marvel Studios release schedule] fits the mold of: something new, then a continuation of stories we’ve already started, and then things being tonally, very different. Black Panther is a sci-fi, geopolitical commentary on race and class, and what it’s like to be African American, as much as what it’s like to be African, or a superhero. Infinity War is this sweeping, culminating Space epic with the biggest villain The Avengers have ever faced. And then Ant-Man and The Wasp, by design – just like the first Ant-Man after Age of Ultron – is supposed to be a respite from that. It is supposed to be fun, but there are stakes. There are deep emotions … The Universe is at stake in Infinity War, and in Ant-Man and The Wasp, the stakes are smaller: the relationship between Ant-Man and Wasp, Scott’s family dynamic with his daughter, Hope, and her lost mother, which makes it totally different.” – Kevin Feige.
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Fun Ant-Man and The Wasp Facts
Marvel Studios announced a sequel to Ant-Man titled Ant-Man and The Wasp at the end of 2015. The sequel was given a release date of July 6, 2018; a spot previously held by Black Panther. The Black Panther film moved up to February 16, 2018, and Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel moved to March 8, 2019. The addition of Ant-Man and The Wasp also coincided with Marvel Studios completely removing the previously announced Inhumans film from their schedule and nixing the project. During the fallout, it was revealed that making Inhumans was never a priority for Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and that the announcement of the film was something that Marvel Entertainment C.E.O. Ike Perlmutter had insisted upon following the introduction of The Inhumans in ABC’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series that was produced by Marvel Television. This was reportedly all part of an initiative within Marvel Entertainment to raise the profile of The Inhumans in an effort to have them replace The X-Men in popularity, as Perlmutter had grown tired of what he saw as an unrewarding promotion by Marvel Entertainment of a franchise that 20th Century Fox owned the licensing rights to. This same approach was taken towards The Fantastic Four, with Marvel Entertainment outright canceling the ongoing Fantastic Four comic book series in late-2014. The removal of Inhumans came a mere three months after Marvel Studios split from Marvel Entertainment. With its removal from the Marvel Studios Slate, Inhumans was moved over to Marvel Television and went into development as a television series that would debut in IMAX theaters and then continue on ABC where it was a critical failure. Ironically, at the end of 2017, The Walt Disney Company would acquire the television and film divisions of 20th Century Fox. The deal was finalized on July 27, 2018, landing the rights to The X-Men and The Fantastic Four at Marvel Studios.
The Wasp is the first female Marvel character to have her name be a direct part of a MCU feature film. Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter did have a headlining role in the Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter production, but theatrically speaking, The Wasp was the first.
On July 22, 2017, at San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the casting of Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne in Ant-Man and The Wasp. Feige also revealed a new logo for the film, along with concept art and announced the additions of Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Randall Park, and Laurence Fishburne to the cast.
Michelle Pfeiffer was Marvel Studios’ first and only choice for the role of Janet Van Dyne in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Ant-Man and The Wasp commenced filming on August 1, 2017, and wrapped on November 19, 2017. The film’s shoot coincided with the ongoing filming of Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
In the Marvel comics, The Ghost is actually a male character that was created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton and is traditionally a member of Iron Man’s rogue’s gallery. Marvel Studios felt the gender of the character was irrelevant and decided to cast a female for the role to serve as a primary antagonist opposite the primary female protagonist.
Lola VFX worked on the physical de-aging of stars Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Laurence Fishburne for flashback sequences.
Stan Lee makes his landmark 20th MCU cameo appearance for Marvel Studios in Ant-Man and The Wasp as a man whose car gets shrunken by accident.
The Ant-Man and The Wasp credits scenes take place following Thanos’ Snap to erase half of all life in the Universe in Avengers: Infinity War. Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, and Janet Van Dyne are all dusted, leaving Scott Lang / Ant-Man stranded within the Quantum Realm.
Ant-Man and The Wasp was Marvel Studios’ 20th consecutive film to open at # 1 at the North American Box Office.
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My Ant-Man and The Wasp Review
Ant-Man and The Wasp was for the most part a nice little palate-cleanser following the emotional roller coaster that was Avengers: Infinity War. I’ll go ahead and get this out there though: Ant-Man and The Wasp is one of my least-favorite MCU films and at the time of its release, it ranked dead-last. That doesn’t mean there weren’t things that I enjoyed about it though, as being an MCU fan, of course I’m going to have a great time with it no matter what, but coming out in the same year that gave us Marvel Studios’ first Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (Black Panther) and Marvel Studios’ highest-grossing film of all-time (Avengers: Infinity War) did Ant-Man and The Wasp no favors, as it simply wasn’t on the level of those, or any of Marvel Studios’ other elite films. It was however funny, and quite charming in places, and it had what was at the time, probably my favorite Marvel Studios credits scene.
In terms of narrative, Marvel Studios did a nice job setting the story of this film up, showing that Scott Lang infuriated Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne (her for much different reasons) by running off to Germany to stand with Captain America against Iron Man and his pro-registration Avengers. Scott did this without Hank nor Hope’s blessing and he not only exposed Hank’s Ant-Man / Giant-Man technology to the world (something Hank was adamantly trying to prevent Darren Cross from doing in the first Ant-Man film) but landed Hank and Hope both on the FBI’s Most Wanted list due to their stance against the Accords. Hank doesn’t have time for government regulation or inquires, as his only concern is getting to the Quantum Realm and searching for his beloved Janet. And Scott has complicated all of that with his arrest in Germany as Hank and Hope are now on the run and forced to resort to dealings on the black market to continue their mission, and that makes them all kinds of new enemies. Scott meanwhile took a deal with Secretary Ross that relegated him under house arrest, and he is under constant monitoring and has been forbidden to make any contact whatsoever with Hank and Hope. Hank therefore pretty much hates Scott at this point, but ends up having to work with Scott anyway, because Scott, unlike anyone else, has actually been to the Quantum Realm and returned to talk about it, and a strange dream has peaked Hank’s interest. This leads to Hope abducting Scott, which could have horrible consequences for him, leading to some Ant-Man and The Wasp team-ups and all sorts of carnage involving Hank’s former colleague Bill Foster (the original Giant-Man), the villainous Sonny Burch, the FBI, and the mysterious Ghost.
I thought The Ghost was the best part of this film. I could not have cared less that Marvel Studios cast a female for the part going in, and I cared even more less after I saw the performance of Hannah John-Kamen. She was amazing in the role with all of these haunting painful expressions and subtle teases of insanity. I thought the backstory of her past working with S.H.I.E.L.D. was really cool, and aesthetically, Ghost was one of Marvel’s coolest looking villains yet. The phasing techniques were really well executed, and I liked the hooded look with the glowing red lights too. The Ghost ended up being a very complicated character; a killer yes, and a person willing to desperately resort to horrible things yes, but she was not actually evil, and her story is a very sympathetic one. She never asked for these powers, and she has been used over and over and over again by those in power to a point where she doesn’t really know who she is by this point. And I liked the twist that her whole mission is to herself get to the Quantum Realm and extract Janet Van Dyne, as Bill Foster believes this can heal Ava. Hank Pym meanwhile believes that this could also kill Janet, so there is a real conflict of interest here between two embittered colleagues who pretty much want the same thing but are each too stubborn to work together to achieve it. The Ghost is a really cool character that I look forward to seeing more of in the MCU.
Another thing I really liked about this film was an extension from the first, and that was the relationship between Scott and his daughter Cassie. Abby Ryder Fortson is just as adorable in this film as she was the first time around, and her whole wanting to be Scott’s partner thing just melted my heart! The bond between Cassie and Scott is shown at different points in this film from their playdate at the beginning in the maze, to her willingness to help Scott swerve the FBI. She is the center of Scott’s world at this point, and nothing is more important to him than continuing to be the hero that he has become. She is his inspiration, and she is his conscience, and she drives him to every day be better than the person that he was the day prior. Comic book readers knew even then that Cassie Lang does in fact go on to become a superhero in the Marvel comics, and her ambition was just as exciting as it was adorable!
Next, I have to praise the action sequences in this film! This is some of the coolest stuff we’ve ever seen from an MCU movie with the back-and-forth growing and shrinking stuff. The kitchen fight was awesome, and the final chase was awesome, and really, any time that Ant-Man or The Wasp were fighting with The Ghost, it was can’t-miss stuff! The Quantum Realm also looked really, really cool and all of the Visual Effects people and the stunt coordinators should be commended for the outstanding work they did on this film.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
All of that being said, my favorite moment from this film was actually the credits scenes that sent us right back into Avengers: Infinity War as viewers. I remember a collective gasp in the theater when that unsettling dust was seen floating through the air, and Scott being stuck in the Quantum Real set up arguably the most important plot narrative of Endgame. I even enjoyed the giant ant playing the drums while the Emergency Broadcast Signal blared. Very eerie and very compelling stuff.
I love Paul Rudd and if he is on the screen, it makes just about any film watchable for me. He is a perfect Ant-Man, and I love his brand of humor, and he was certainly one of the highlights of this film.
I really liked the casting of Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne. Evangeline Lilly’s Hope was so angry and spiteful in the first Ant-Man film that it made her a little unlikable, but Janet’s place in this film grounded Hope emotionally and true to her name, made her more hopeful. I liked Hope far more this time around and really liked the chemistry between Hope and Janet.
I loved the recurring Baba Yaga gag! David Dastmalchian just sold it so straight and it made for some of the funniest scenes in this movie. I also liked Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo and I thought Paxton’s man-crush on Scott was hilarious. The truth serum stuff with Luis was also pretty funny!
I did not enjoy the Sonny Burch character at all. One of the MCU’s worst villains for me, and in fact, his team of thugs didn’t add anything of interest to the film for me either.
If you read my Ant-Man review, you know my feelings on Hank Pym. If you haven’t read it, check it out! (Thanks)! In short, I’m not a Hank Pym fan, and him sort of emerging as the hero at the end just didn’t click with me. Hank just comes off as a bully and a jerk and he’s a hard character for me to cheer for. I’m glad he got Janet out and brought her back to live out the rest of her life though.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is worth watching and is actually pretty essential viewing prior to watching Avengers: Endgame in order to fully understand the Quantum Realm and whatnot, but it is on the lower-tier, far removed from the MCU’s best films.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Ant-Man and The Wasp:
Paul Rudd is Scott Lang
Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / The Ghost
Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie Lang
Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne
Chemistry Between Paul Rudd and Abby Ryder Fortson
Amazing Shrinking and Growing Action Sequences
Incredible Visuals Relating to The Ghost
Humor
Recurring Baba Yaga Gag
Haunting Mid-Credits Scene That “Snaps” Us Back to Reality
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Bill Foster. Ava Starr / The Ghost. Elihas Starr. Sonny Burch. Jimmy Woo.
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