Iron Man got one. So did Captain America, so did Thor, and Guardians of the Galaxy will have theirs soon.
But what about Ant-Man, the wisecracking master thief played in the Marvel films by Paul Rudd? Will that character be getting a third movie, too?
Rudd has given an interview, now that the dust has settled from the July release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, in which he seems to throw cold water on the notion of another Ant-Man movie happening.
You can read the interview he gave to Radio Times one of two ways. He says at one point that he and director Peyton Reed “have had conversations and things,” adding that he doesn’t know what the plan is and hasn’t really asked. He goes on to say there are a couple of ideas for a sequel, “but I’d hate to go into any specifics. Even though that is what you want! Because it might not happen.”
An objective reading of that seems to suggest that, either way, nothing is in the cards yet at this point.
The just-released sequel certainly did well enough to argue for another. It’s grossed more than $400 million globally, and Rudd has spoken elsewhere that the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas in the firm together gave it extra credibility.
Pfeiffer’s character — the original Wasp — was a centerpiece of the film, which featured Ant-Man Scott Lang and the Wasp, played by Evangeline Lilly, setting out to rescue Michelle’s character from the Quantum Realm.
The film was just released this week in the U.K., which is one reason it’s back in the headlines. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie as of Aug. 1 has grossed $188.1 million in the U.S. and Canada and more than $212 million elsewhere, for a total surpassing $400 million. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Richard Roeper wrote that the lightweight tone of the film was a welcome respite from the “dramatically heavy conclusion” of Avengers: Infinity War.
We should add, about Infinity War…
If you stuck around for the end credits of this second Ant-Man movie, you saw the message after Dr. Pym, Janet and Hope were vaporized, that “Ant-Man and the Wasp will return.” As we reported in July, “This doesn’t mean an Ant-Man 3 is already in the making, but it’s Marvel’s way of telling us these heroes will pop up again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So hope is not lost — pun entirely intended — and neither is Ant-Man.”
