Marvel is just a couple of weeks away from releasing Black Panther in theaters, which will be followed by the hugely anticipated Avengers: Infinity War. But after that, Marvel will keep the momentum going with the sequel to Ant-Man, perhaps one of the more surprising films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The trailer for the sequel, Ant-Man And The Wasp, was released Tuesday, and it shows off the newest addition to the MCU. The appearance of The Wasp was teased in a post-credits scene at the end of the first Ant-Man movie in 2015.
It’s a little bit surprising that Marvel and Disney didn’t save this to debut during Sunday’s Super Bowl. But rather than the trailer getting lost in the shuffle among other ads, movie trailers and the game itself, Ant-Man and the Wasp gets a chance to stand out on its own days before the big game. Check it out:
The trailer opens up with a dialogue between Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). The conversation calls back to Lang’s initial interaction with Captain America in Captain America: Civil War, and touches on the continuing tension between the two lead characters. The daughter of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Hope was annoyed that her father was using someone else to pull off their heist of Pym’s shrinking technology. But the story eventually revealed that Pym had more plans for his daughter, and now she is getting a chance to show what she can do.
Hope’s suit has a few bells and whistles which Ant-Man doesn’t have available to him, leading to a humorous exchange between Rudd and Douglas. Though the trailer shows off some good action sequences, Ant-Man and The Wasp continues the lighter touch that set it apart from other Marvel films. Few films in the MCU can pull off Michael Douglas shrinking an entire building to the size of a rolling suitcase or The Wasp launching a giant Hello Kitty PEZ dispenser at someone in the streets.
We also get a brief glimpse of Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne), who has his own history with Pym’s technology, and the villain of the film, Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). In Marvel canon, Ghost has been an antagonist to other Marvel characters like Iron Man (could we be in line for a brief Robert Downey Jr. cameo?), Spider-Man and Deadpool. Who didn’t we see? Michelle Pfeiffer, who was cast as Janet Van Dyne, Hope’s mother and Pym’s wife. Maybe that’ll be in the next trailer.
Though Ant-Man and The Wasp hits theaters after Avengers: Infinity War, we don’t know when exactly the story takes place. From what we know at this point, however, Lilly will not be in the next Avengers film, but Rudd will. With that being the case, we may have Lilly take on the more focal role in this film, which would be welcomed in the evolving superhero movie genre.
Last year, DC put Wonder Woman into her own film and it was a resounding success. Marvel has not yet gotten that far, though it’s promoting diversity the ongoing MCU with Black Panther and the upcoming Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson. Those characters, along with The Wasp, figure to appear in the fourth Avengers film releasing in 2019.
Ant-Man and The Wasp looks to be a load of fun, and Marvel has found a way to make Ant-Man a success on the big screen. A movie built around the character was a bit of a gamble in 2015 and wasn’t as huge a hit as other Marvel films. But with four appearances on film after this year, Ant-Man is now an established part of the MCU and now The Wasp is about to fly into the swarm.
