Ant-Man 3 Is Officially Happening
"I know you know a lot of super-people, so... thinks for thanking of me!"
Think of him we do, and thank him we soon will, as Marvel Studios has announced that Paul Rudd's Ant-Man is officially getting a third film — contrary to past rumors that claimed the project would never see the light of day.
The Hollywood Reporter had the scoop on the Ant-Man 3 announcement — detailing that Peyton Reed, the director of the original Ant-Man from 2015 and its 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, is indeed getting behind the helm again.
Unsurprisingly, Rudd is expected to reprise his role as Scott Lang — better known to the world, his fellow heroes, and Marvel fans as Ant-Man, the suit-sporting dude who can shrink and expand at will.
It remains to be seen whether other franchise mainstays — like Michael Douglas, who portrays entomologist, physicist, and original Ant-Man Hank Pym, and Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne, Hank's daughter and the current iteration of the superhero Wasp — will return for Ant-Man 3. Given both characters made appearances in one of the two most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films, the penultimate Phase 3 entry Avengers: Endgame, it seems reasonable to assume that Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne — as well as Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne, Hope's mother and the original Wasp — will re-join the fray and star alongside Rudd for what's expected to be Ant-Man's trilogy-closer.
What can fans expect from Ant-Man 3?
Marvel Studios is keeping the lid on Ant-Man 3 plot details super-glued shut — possibly because story specifics haven't yet been ironed out, or perhaps because the company is infamous for its secrecy and simply wants to oversee the rolling-out of information with an extra-keen eye. Either way, there's essentially no concrete information out there about the plot of Ant-Man 3.
Fans can, of course, look to the events of Avengers: Endgame to speculate where Ant-Man 3's story will at least start out. In the superhero ensemble movie, Scott Lang was spat out of the Quantum Realm after Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap in Avengers: Infinity War, surfacing five full years after the Mad Titan killed half of all life in the universe. He shared an emotional moment with his now-much-older daughter, Cassie Lang (Emma Fuhrmann); teamed up with the Avengers to execute a grand Time Heist mission, during which he traveled back to New York City in the year 2012 to obtain the Mind Stone and the Space Stone alongside Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans); experienced the return of the billions of people who were disintegrated in Thanos' Decimation; and aided in the final fight against Thanos at the film's epic climax.
All that considered, it's likely that Ant-Man 3 will pick up in the year 2023 or a bit later, and feature Scott Lang facing off against a brand-new foe. Depending on what happens in the MCU between now and the time Ant-Man 3 hits theaters, other big-name heroes could feature in the flick. There have also been whisperings that Ant-Man 3 will drop a huge MCU bombshell and introduce the Young Avengers team — which features Scott's own daughter Cassie, who has taken on the hero monikers Stature (starting with Young Avengers #6) and Stinger (with Ant-Man #6) in the Marvel comics.
It's tough to say how much different the MCU will be and what narrative possibilities will be available when Ant-Man makes his silver-screen comeback, though, as Ant-Man 3 wasn't included in Marvel's Phase 4 announcements during this year's San Diego Comic-Con. That list accounts for films from May 2020 (Black Widow) to November 2021 (Thor: Love and Thunder), and it's believed that Ant-Man 3 won't arrive in theaters until 2022. Sources close to the production of Ant-Man 3 have indicated that the film is expected to begin filming at the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, with Marvel prioritizing the other sequel films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder before Ant-Man 3.
Until we know more about Ant-Man 3, hold tight to your Pym Particles and stay tuned to Looper for future updates.