Ant-Man and the Wasp Interviews – About Making the Epic Sequel
It was recently press junket time again! I was ecstatic to head to the The Langham in Pasadena for interviews with the cast and creators of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Ant-Man is one of my favorite Marvel films, so I was thrilled to finally see Ant-Man and the Wasp after three years of waiting, and couldn’t wait to hear what the experience was like for the cast to return for the sequel. In attendance at the interviews were:
- Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man)
- Evangeline Lilly (Hope van Dyne/The Wasp)
- Michael Douglas (Dr Hank Pym)
- Laurence Fishburne (Dr Bill Foster)
- Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost)
- Director Peyton Reed
- Producer Kevin Feige
Director Peyton Reed
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige speak onstage at Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man And The Wasp” Global Junket Press Conference on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Peyton Reed; Kevin Feige
Peyton Reed, director of both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, loved returning to direct the sequel, but he also wanted the film and the technology within the film to go above and beyond the first:
“There were a lot of daunting sequences, because we really wanted to set out and go nuts with the PIM-PARTICLE technology in this movie…and it occurred to us at some point, well maybe it’s not just Ant-Man and Wasp who can shrink and maybe grow. What if it were vehicles, buildings and other things, and we really wanted to go nuts with it. But what that did was create some real technical challenges.” – Peyton Reed
The film takes place in San Francisco, quite an exciting place to have a car chase with all the hilly streets and iconic buildings. Reed really strived to make San Francisco a character in Ant-Man and the Wasp, primarily by utilizing the city for an epic car chase.
Producer Kevin Feige
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, we learn more about the Quantum Realm, and us curious Marvel fans had to inquire about the role the Quantum Realm will play in future films. Feige (of course didn’t give away any spoilers) talked about how he loves storytelling by introducing new places and new things. Some of the things we see in the Quantum Realm in this film may come into place in films in the short term and long term.
Evangeline Lilly on Playing Wasp
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Evangeline Lilly speaks onstage at Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man And The Wasp” Global Junket Press Conference on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Evangeline Lilly
Lilly loved getting to be a part of many epic battle sequences in Ant-Man and the Wasp, “I love the kind of element of having somebody who’s completely in jeopardy, but also completely in control.”
Another reason Lilly was excited for this film? In real life, she is very interested in quantum physics, and the idea that everything began and will end at some point with an atom. The Ant-Man brand has been very exciting for her, since it involves her love of quantum physics a great deal.
Paul Rudd on Playing Ant-Man for the Third Time
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Paul Rudd speaks onstage at Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man And The Wasp” Global Junket Press Conference on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Paul Rudd
We have seen Rudd play Scott Lang/Ant-Man in two previous films (Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War). Rudd talked about how the third time in this role was different from the rest:
“One of the things that was kind of nice is it gave us, I felt, a little bit of leeway, to lean into something maybe a little harder than we would have been able to at first, because now the character has been established and we’ve seen Scott in two other films. People buy the abilities. They buy me in the role. They understand the rules. Would Scott do this? Would he make this, would he say this kind of thing? [cont’d] I feel like we kind of went into it with a ‘let’s try it. Let’s go.’ People know who this guy is already.” -Paul Rudd
Hannah John-Kamen on the New Villain “Ghost”
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Hannah John-Kamen speaks onstage at Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man And The Wasp” Global Junket Press Conference on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Hannah John-Kamen
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, we meet a new villain, called “Ghost”, played by Hannah John-Kamen. Her villain is quite unique; she discusses her approach to diving into her role:
“I definitely approach the character not as a villain, at all. Definitely a threat…to the characters and the heroes of the movie. But when you play a villain, you have to play it like you’re the good guy. The stakes are so high, she has a clear objective in the movie and you know, every man for himself. Every woman for herself.” -Hannah John-Kamen
Laurence Fishburne On His Role in Ant-Man and the Wasp
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Laurence Fishburne and Peyton Reed speak onstage at Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man And The Wasp” Global Junket Press Conference on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. *** Local Caption *** Laurence Fishburne; Peyton Reed
Laurence Fishburne has previously been in a Marvel film before, as Norrin Radd in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Fishburne has long been an avid Marvel comics reader, but had never heard of Bill Foster from Ant-Man since he hadn’t read the Ant-Man comics, but felt like a “kid in a candy store” getting to learn about Ant-Man’s story and his character Bill Foster.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Ant-Man and the Wasp comes to theaters July 6th – stay tuned for my spoiler-free review!
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