Peyton Reed directs Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily in Walt Disney and Marvel's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
We got word yesterday (courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter) that Peyton Reed will be returning to direct a third Ant-Man movie. Details are obviously scarce, but the goal is for a 2022 release, joining Chadwick Boseman and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2 on May 6 and at least one other MCU movie for the year. Presuming July 29, 2022 is the slot for Ant Man 3, then the question is what will drop on February 18, 2022. It’s a slight surprise that we’re getting a third Paul Rudd/Evangeline Lilly Ant-Man movie, both because the franchise is among the lower-grossing MCU properties and because the whole “time jump” plot line of the Russ Bros’ last two Avengers films did a real number on the Peyton Reed franchise’s continuity. Here’s what it means.
It’s counting on a big boost from China.
First, yeah, Ant-Man and the Wasp was the rare MCU movie that kinda-sorta needed a Chinese boost to soar to franchise-appropriate heights. By any rational standard, a $160 million sequel that earns $620 million worldwide (and $216 million domestic) is a solid result from a predecessor that earned $180 million domestic and $519 million worldwide on a $130 million budget. Yes, it was a little surprising to see the franchise still be somewhat “lesser” in terms of popularity even after MCU growth shown in Phase Three by Doctor Strange ($677 million), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($869 million) and Thor: Ragnarok ($854 million), to say nothing of (obviously) Black Panther ($1.346 billion) and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.048 billion).
For what it’s worth, $125 million of Ant-Man and the Wasp’s grosses came from China, a record at the time for a non-Avengers superhero flick and the start of an upsurge in popularity for superhero movies in China which saw Venom ($269 million), Aquaman ($298 million), Captain Marvel ($154 million) and Spider-Man: Far From Home ($206 million) soar above their respective predecessors or peers. I’d wager that China jump, with the presumption that a third Ant-Man would do at least as well here and abroad as the last film, was part of the calculation. Moreover, there’s value in having a kid-friendly MCU movie that is a bit more “guilt-free babysitter” on Disney+ versus Iron Man 3 or Thor: Ragnarok.
It (and Black Panther 2) will have deal with the fallout from Avengers: Endgame.
While Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp were kid-friendly family comedies starring Paul Rudd as a benevolent thief-turned-reluctant superhero who was trying to do right by his young daughter, the time jump (and Thanos snap) changed the game. Now pre-teen Cassie Lang (Abby Ryder Fortson) is teen Cassie Lang (Emma Fuhrmann), a young woman who spent the last five years presuming that her dad had been “snapped” into oblivion. We never found out whether Cassie’s (Judy Greer) and Cassie’s step-father (Bobby Cannavale) got “blipped,” so the extent to which Cassie’s last five years were filled with trauma and misery is still up in the air. Either way, Avengers: Endgame turned what was Marvel’s lightest franchise into potentially one of its darkest.
I don’t know how Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame will impact the tone of that third Ant-Man movie, but A) most audiences won’t care if it somewhat brushes off the consequences, B) I’m sure Reed has little interest in a grimdark Ant-Man flick that is preoccupied with Scott Lang and Cassie Lang coping with the circumstances of their separation. Moreover, what’s interesting, at least to me, is that both Black Panther 2 and Ant-Man 3 will be the sequels most explicitly impacted by the events of Avengers: Endgame. T’Challa had been on the throne for two years before getting blipped for another five years. Endgame seems to imply that it was a peaceful re-transition of power, but, well…
Peyton Reed will become one of the rare superhero directors to complete a trilogy.
The other interesting thing is that, with Peyton Reed returning for a second sequel, Ant-Man becomes the first MCU trilogy to get the same filmmaker for all three installments. Jon Favreau directed Iron Man and Iron Man 2 before Shane Black took over for Iron Man 3, while Kenneth Branagh’s Thor and Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World were followed by Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok and his upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. Joe Johnston directed Captain America: The First Avenger while the Russo brothers helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War before finishing out the Infinity Saga with Infinity War and Endgame. Presuming rumor becomes fact, Jon Watts will helm the three MCU/Sony Spider-Man movies.
Had things gone according to plan, then this summer would have likely seen James Gunn’s third Guardians of the Galaxy opening the summer and becoming the first “same director” MCU trilogy, but while he’s technically onboard for a third flick the release date is up in the air while he helms DC Films’ The Suicide Squad. But, it is what it is, and now Peyton Reed, the guy who was brought in after Marvel and Edgar Wright parted ways, becomes the rare director to complete his singular superhero trilogy. He joins Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3) and Chris Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) in a somewhat rare club.
The solo MCU movies are evolving into filmmaker-driven franchises
Even if you count Jon Watts’ Spider-Man movies, since Watts will probably sign on the dotted line and Spider-Man 3 will presumably open (July 16, 2021) before Ant-Man 3, as the first single-director MCU trilogy, it all points to an encouraging trend. Without getting too much into the whole “filmmaker-driven” debate for the first batch of MCU movies, as the stand-alone movies become stand-alone franchises, we are beginning to see aggressively auteristic offerings. Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp are absolutely Peyton Reed movies, with their optimistic dispositions, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes sensibilities and Fantastic Four (Hank Pym = Mr. Fantastic, Janet Van Dyne = The Invisible Woman, Hope Pym = Human Torch and Paul Rudd as The Thing) retrofitting.
Guardians of the Galaxy is absolutely a James Gunn franchise, complete with subtext (or outright text) concerning unlovable folks learning to give and receive love while coping with failed relationships and childhood trauma. The Thor movies are being shaped toward Taika Waititi’s sensibilities, and it’s hard to imagine a successful Love and Thunder not producing another installment down the line. Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange movies will presumably go further into horror and spirituality, while Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is as specific a directorial vision as Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. Whether Ant-Man 3 turns Cassie Lang into Stature and becomes a Young Avengers backdoor pilot, Ant-Man 3 will almost certainly be a Peyton Reed flick through-and-through.
Epilogue:
Yes, it is possible that Ant-Man 3 will take place long enough after Avengers: Endgame to merely pick up after most of the wounds have healed, and it’s entirely possible that the implicit reason for the film is to set up Young Avengers. That would be ironic, as it would take Marvel’s smallest/least “important” franchise, the one usually offered as a “palette cleanser” after a huge mythology episode and make the third film into the most “must-see” solo MCU flick since Captain America: Civil War. It would also signal that, while the Disney+ television shows may play into the broader MCU narrative, the big must-see events would still happen in the movies. We’ll find out soon enough.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2019/11/02/why-ant-man-3-starring-paul-rudd-and-evangeline-lily-may-be-marvels-most-important-post-avengers-endgame-mcu-movie/
2019-11-02 14:00:00Z
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