Hopefully you’ve had a chance to see the Ant-Man and The Wasp for yourself, you’ll have to leave your comments below and tell me what you thought! This has been such an exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, am I right?! Each press trip we get to speak to the important people of the film, you know the actors, the writers, and directors. Thanks to Disney and Marvel Studios for inviting me on this awesome press junket for #AntManandTheWaspEvent, opinions are my own. Let’s get talking to Peyton Reed on directing Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Photo: Ben Rothstein ©Marvel Studios 2018
The Science in Ant-Man and The Wasp
As you can imagine, in the MCU Science plays a big part and there is definitely Science in Ant-Man and The Wasp. Reed talked to us about bringing the quantum realm to life as it plays a larger part in this film.
“I think there was a concentrated effort in the first Ant-Man and in Dr. Strange to kind of start embracing that psychedelic aspect of the Marvel Comics, which is always part of the Marvel Comics since the ’60s, but had not really been explored in the MCU. There are different dimensions and hopefully, they’re all gonna serve different purposes in the future. With regards to our movie, it was something where we were trying to figure out what we were gonna show and how we were gonna deal with the plots around it. We had to key off what we saw in the first movie, but we wanted to show the audience a little more. It was really fun to design what that could look like, dramatically, how it would work but then it also had to fit into the rest of our movie which is, compared to some of the other Marvel movies, a little more grounded. Ant-Man takes place in our world, not in Outer Space or Asgard or something like that. It had to have a reality to it too so it was a huge challenge to visualize the concept around it but really, really fun.”
©Marvel Studios 2018
The Young Avengers
Yes, if you are a comic book reader you know the progression in the MCU and the Young Avengers are coming. We totally asked him if Abby Ryder Fortson would be considered since she *spoiler* mentions it in the film about wanting to help people. Here’s what he said to us:
“I think we wanted to definitely start laying some groundwork for that possibility. I don’t know what specific plans are but I really liked the idea. It’s fun to work with Abby 3 years later now. And I always love in movies when you see particularly a little kid and you see it there see how she has sort of grown. And I like the idea that you have these glimpses where she goes toe-to-toe with Agent Woo.”
“And then she covers for her Dad and she’s got that side of Scott, that’s a little mischievous and everything, but she’s a tough kid. And I really love the idea of doing that intimate scene where she’s talking about maybe he needs a partner, and in her mind, it’s her, and him having to say that you know, of course, you could do it, but I’d be a terrible father if I allowed you to do it. I think that’s one of the things that I liked the most in the movie is that Scott, the evolution of the Scott/Cassie relationship. It helps that Abby is so good. She’s such a really focused young Actor, you know, and it’s sort of rare.”
“And she has great—Paul is a huge part of it—they just have a really nice chemistry together, and he’s able to relax her; it’s a nice dynamic, but because really, Fathers and Daughters is a real thematic, it certainly was in the first one and we wanted to progress that in this movie, whether it’s literal Fathers and Daughters, like Hank and Hope and Scott and Cassie or more figurative like Bill Foster and Ava. I like the idea of furthering that theme.”
So excited for what’s to come!
Photo Credit: MomStart.com
What’s Next with the MCU
Before we go I feel like I should share Reed’s comment on the next Marvel film and where the franchise is headed.. Here’s what he could share:
“I have to be so careful. Wasp is gonna shoot me in the neck, with a gun absolutely. I don’t know if it’s a real threat but to me, the whole idea of the Spoilers thing is that there are certain things that you want to keep secret and there’s an exhilaration as an audience to experience something. It’s so rare now to see a movie that you know nothing about. It’s kind of a lost art.
But, even as a kid, like I had a love/hate relationship. When “The Empire Strikes Back” came out, the novelization came out two weeks before the movie opened and I couldn’t wait. I read the novelization and I learned the revelation about Darth Vader, but it didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of actually two weeks later seeing the movie. But still, there are certain things I think that are predetermined that we’ve all talked about, and then there are things that we’ve talked about that could possibly happen, or wouldn’t it be cool if?
I think one of the fun things about the Marvel Universe is that I think Kevin has a larger plan but that plan is extremely fluid. People always ask what did you have to do in this move to pay off the other thing? His general philosophy, at least with the Ant-man movies has been make them as stand alone as possible and whoever the Directors are in the next movie, they’re gonna have to deal with the ramifications, which is kind of nice. But, there’s a fluidity, and I think it’s the idea of like whatever makes for the best character arcs and the most interesting and maybe surprising thing, wins.
I know I’m dodging your question but, I think it is sort of leaving things open ended and I know that what I want to do with those characters and stories that I want to tell and how we progress the characters. In this movie it excited me as we talked about putting Wasp at center stage and really telling that story. This whole movie is really about are they gonna be? Does she need him as a partner? Are they gonna be able to work as a partnership? I feel like this movie really answers that question, and the possibilities are really endless.”
Photo Credit: MomStart.com
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Ant-Man and The Wasp is in theaters NOW!
