Ant-Man and The Wasp is just weeks away from hitting theaters and fans are understandably excited for a movie which will more than likely serve as a palette cleanser after the shocking events of Avengers: Infinity War. As has now become standard, Marvel Studios has kept much of the sequel's plot under wraps but the curtain has finally been pulled back thanks to some recent set visits.
Below, you'll find huge new details on everything from how the movie deals with the fallout from Captain America: Civil War to the role characters like Bill Foster and Ghost will play in proceedings.
There's also a scene description and news on Janet Van Dyne's return and why that's going to be such a huge part of Ant-Man and The Wasp when it's released next month. So, to take a full list at these spoilery new reveals, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below to take a look.
Why Hank Pym Has An Issue With Scott Lang
When we caught up with Scott Lang in Captain America: Civil War, he was wearing a brand new suit and it was quite clearly an upgrade built for him by Hank Pym. So, how does the scientist feel about his protege taking that to war before being stripped of it when he was captured by Iron Man? "Hank isn’t happy Scott took the suit to fight in Civil War," Michael Douglas confirms. "Yeah, he’s pretty pissed off about that. He really is. I would say that largely sets the initial tone between Scott and Hank."
Captain America: Civil War Fallout
Interestingly, it sounds like the movie will spend more time dealing with the fallout from Captain America: Civil War than teasing the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Despite that, expect it to be a relatively standalone adventure for Scott Lang and company. "What I’m really happy about is, we’re free to tell sort of our free-standing story. Once we establish that as the leaping off point, this thing is going on over here with huge personal stakes and huge other stakes that are really separate of what’s going on with Infinity War."
Thanks To Scott, Hank And Hope Are Fugitives Now Too
Hank Pym and his daughter Hope may not have been directly involved with the conflict in Captain America: Civil War but the events of that movie have resulted in them also becoming fugitives. "Because of Germany, because of what happened in Civil War with Captain America, they’re a little bit on the run," Evangeline Lilly explains. "We have technology that would be considered a superpower in the Marvel-verse. At that point in time, you’re not allowed to have that independently. So yeah, our life is dramatically changed not for the better, in our opinion."
Hank Pym's Amazing New Laboratory
It's not clear whether or not we'll see this in the movie but according to production designer Shepard Frankel, Hank Pym actually built his new lab from the ground up...on a table! "You kinda get a sense of how a guy built this thing on his table where he took everyday materials and grew and built and put them into his lab small, and then when he grows the lab, they become big."
Interestingly, the lab is described as being an organism because we'll see walls that light up and move, "reinforcing the notion of, ‘Am I in a computer? Am I in a building? What’s going on?’ This thing constantly thinking. The building’s set up to think for him, you know, to assist with all that. Not unlike a computer; an intuitive thought." With that in mind, it's no wonder people want to steal it in the sequel.
Ant-Man And The Wasp's Time-Jump
It sounds like Ant-Man and The Wasp will be taking some cues from The Empire Strikes Back because, as expected, there will indeed be a time jump between the events of the first movie and its sequel. "My first questions were – what did Hank and Hope know about Scott going off and dealing with that situation with The Avengers and did they know about it? How did they feel about it?" Reed ponders.
"And surely this would’ve caused some kind of tension at worst and rift at best between the characters because Hank Pym’s very clear in the first movie about how he feels about Stark and how he feels about The Avengers and being very protective of this technology that he has. So that seemed like a really ripe sort of place to start in terms of character development."
Hope Has A Mission Of Her Own In The Sequel
A conscious effort was reportedly made early on to make sure that this movie is Ant-Man and The Wasp not Ant-Man with The Wasp and that's reflected in Hope having a mission of her own in the sequel. "The mission that is happening with her, entirely separate of Scott, is vital," Reed explains. "And it’s her mission. It’s not her dad’s mission. It’s her mission. Hank and Hope are working together, but it’s really Hope leading in charge, and that was an important thing when we started talking about what was going on, is the what and why of this mission."
Unfortunately, the filmmaker didn't elaborate on that point but it definitely sounds like it could have something to do with whatever Ghost is going to be up to in this movie.
Hank And Hope's New Dynamic
In the first movie, we saw Hank and Hope attempting to reunite after the former's childhood had led to her turning on her father (not realising that he hadn't spent all his time on work; he was trying to find her mother). Expect things to change in this movie, though! "She’s older. I think there’s much more a sense of working together as partners, as a team, and then of course possible, the hope that Janet, Michelle, could still be alive in the quantum realm."
The Movie Was Inspired By Midnight Run
According to the Ant-Man and The Wasp director, movies like After Hours and Midnight Run came to mind when he sat down to think about where the sequel would be going and the urgency in the film comes from the heroes having to rescue Janet Van Dyne from the Quantum Realm. The filmmaker also says that it's a mixture of an action movie, a romantic comedy, and a road movie.
"The first movie, really, the template was more of a heist movie and this wanted to be a little more of like an Elmore Leonard vibe where we have villains, but we also have antagonists, and we have these roadblocks to our heroes getting to where they need to be, and getting what they need for this mission."
What Does Finding Janet Mean For Hope?
Janet is obviously Hope's mother but beyond that, why is it so important for her to be reunited with the former Wasp? "If she’s now finally a fully fledged hero in her own right," Reed explains, "and you’re in a position like that, you know, you tend to kind of look for mentors or role models, and the one person that she would really turn to is not there."
The Sequel's Main Focus
She may not have been heavily featured in the trailers but the focus of Ant-Man and The Wasp is going to be the quest to bring Janet Van Dyne back from the Quantum Realm. "The big mission is to find Janet," Reed confirms. "What that means ultimately for our characters on a personal level is one thing. What it means for the larger world is another thing. And all the other things are really, you know, stumbling blocks on the path." There's clearly going to be ramifications for bringing her back then!
How Do The Heroes Know Janet Is Still Alive?
Seeing as Janet has been stuck in the Quantum Realm for decades now, she's surely dead or insane, right? Well, Douglas explains that, "We get a signal. Hope is certainly integral, but we get a signal that actually, through Scott..." Frustratingly, the actor stopped himself from saying more after that but the heroes are clearly given a reason for devoting so much time to bringing Janet home.
Is The Ghost The Movie's Big Bad?
It's been confirmed that there will be a big bad in Ant-Man and The Wasp but will it be Ghost? Not necessarily says Reed. "There is a big bad that has a very unique relationship to our characters. And I know you know that the character Ghost is in the movie, and that we’ve adapted the character from the comics in a way that we feel is really unique to our movie, and very much tied into this universe. So, she becomes a really, really crucial part of the story in a way that I can’t really reveal yet."
Personally, my bet is that Bill Foster will be outed as the lead villain but we'll talk more about him later!
Expect A Very Different Take On The Villain, Though
While the comic book version of Ghost has always been a mystery to us, Ant-Man and The Wasp will be doing more than changing the character's sex as we'll learn more about what makes her tick.
"We thought that was a cool opportunity to create a character that was all about mystery, and kind of what the origins, what is the backstory, what is the goals and agendas of this person, was a great vehicle for the story we wanted to tell because Ghost, in the comics itself was a mystery," says executive producer Stephen Broussard before adding that she's "on a mission at odds with our heroes on this journey, but of a similar goal, of a similar aim at the worst possible time for Scott Lang."
Does Hank Regret Picking Scott Over Hope For That Heist?
"We deal with it really head-on in the movie," Peyton Reed explains. "The first movie is all about, ‘I have this technology and what happens to it? I’m too old to deal with this now, and to whom do I bequeath this to?’ In the first movie, the answer is right in front of his face the whole time – it’s Hope. But, after the events of Civil War, Scott has proven to be somewhat unreliable in that regard. So, that’s a big character thrust in this movie is a mentor who maybe is questioning his decision in a big, big way."
Apparently, Hank will also very much be of the opinion that Scott isn't good enough for his daughter!
We're Going To See More Of San Francisco
Ant-Man shook things up by moving the action from New York to San Francisco but we didn't get to see a whole lot of the movie. That will change in the sequel, though, because Reed is looking to explore the city beyond Hank Pym's house! "I just wanted to open the movie up and get out and take advantage of San Francisco because that felt like a different texture for the MCU that Ant-Man sort of occupies this corner of the universe and we wanted to really get outside and explore those elements."
The Deal With Bill Foster
We've caught a glimpse of Laurence Fishburne's Bill Foster in the trailers for the movie but what exactly should we expect to see from him here? "They were both involved with SHIELD at some point, but one guy’s sort of stepped away and taken a more academic approach," says Reed, referring to Foster, who has now become a teacher of quantum physics at Berkley.
The director also explains that we should expect to see a Steve Jobs/Bill Gates style rivalry between Hank and his old friend. "Two scientists who are both geniuses in quantum physics and quantum mechanics, but maybe have a Mac, PC rivalry about what the approach to delving into the quantum realm might be." The question is, will that lead to Foster taking a villainous turn?
Are We Going To See Him Suit Up As Goliath?
"Maybe. Maybe, maybe," says Broussard. "The idea would be that perhaps they had worked together in the past, you know, on a lot of projects. Including some of the shrinking and growing tech. How that plays into this story, I think would rather leave unsaid for the moment." Yeah, he's definitely growing for a fight against Scott Lang before the credits roll based on these remarks from the producer!
Scene Description
Thanks to Collider, we have a brief scene description and while it's not overly revealing, it does sound pretty cool. It takes place in a mobile lab Hank has created in order to keep moving and stay hidden from Randall Park's Agent Woo, a character who has seemingly been tasked with tracking them down.
"It seems as though this is Scott’s first time in the mobile lab because the first thing he asks Hank is, “You get your tech at a restaurant?” Right after that, the door on Scott’s side opens. It’s Hope! She asks, “We good?” Hank replies, “We’re good, yeah.” She tells him she’ll be right back and then Scott turns to Hank and says, “She seems more intense.” Hank tells him, “She hasn’t seen her mother in 30 years and she’s so close to finding her. How would you be?” After that, it’s some awkward silence until Scott reaches out to grab something and Hank swats his hand away."
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