Ant-Man and the Wasp

A few months ago, Adam McKay didn’t seem so sure about his involvement with Ant-Man and the Wasp, though he did say he wanted to return for Marvel’s upcoming sequel. McKay came on board the first Ant-Man a bit late in the game, helping Paul Rudd with some rewrites when director Peyton Reed replaced Edgar Wright, but it looks like The Big Short director will be on board from the get-go this time around.

While doing the rounds to promote his financial crisis film The Big Short, Adam McKay hinted that he might be back to script Ant-Man and the Wasp — as it turns out, not only is McKay reporting for scripting duties on the sequel, but he’ll be re-teaming with Paul Rudd, and the pair will have a little additional help from uncredited Ant-Man writers Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer.

As far as Marvel films go, Ant-Man wasn’t as weird as Guardians of the Galaxy, though the brief trip to the Quantum Realm gave us a taste of the potential weirdness to come. Director Peyton Reed is returning to helm Ant-Man and the Wasp, and promises that things will definitely get more strange in the sequel, while newly-released concept art from the first film shows early — and very different — designs for the Yellowjacket suit.

Ant-Man director Peyton Reed recently confirmed his return to helm the sequel, which will feature Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly reprising their roles as Ant-Man and the Wasp in the appropriately-titled Ant-Man and the Wasp. While we haven’t gotten confirmation that any of their co-stars from the first film will be joining them, Michael Douglas seems to suggest that we can count on another appearance from Hank Pym.

After Edgar Wright famously parted ways with Marvel on Ant-Man, Adam McKay was briefly in talks to direct before Peyton Reed signed on for the job. Although the timing didn’t work out, McKay still did some work on the script with Paul Rudd, and it’s been reported that Marvel is still very much interested in having him do something more substantial in the MCU. According to McKay, he might be returning fairly soon.

Just a couple of weeks ago Marvel readjusted their upcoming slate of films, shifting the release dates of Black Panther and Captain Marvel to allow for Ant-Man and the Wasp, the official sequel to this year’s Ant-Man. It seemed a bit obvious that director Peyton Reed would return (especially when he tweeted about the sequel), though Marvel hasn’t made anything official until today.

China: They make people for Earth, stuff for America, and blockbusters for Hollywood. As one of the fastest-growing markets on the planet, Hollywood films constantly jockey for supremacy in the bustling, densely overpopulated China. And every now and then, the Chinese moviegoing public can provide an American film with a valuable infusion of box-office capital, certifying a smash hit or creating new ones from struggling pictures. This past weekend, the folks at Marvel Studios received a pleasant surprise via a reminder of China’s buying power when their Ant-Man performed impressively at the Asian box offices.

When Marvel originally revealed their plans for Phase 3, conspicuously missing was a date for Ant-Man 2. There was some concern that Ant-Man may never get his sequel and would have to be content appearing in other Marvel things (like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War), but those concerns have been allayed by Marvel who officially announced Ant-Man and the Wasp will open in theaters in 2018!