Despite a mountain (anthill?) of debate surrounding the directing of the first Antman film following Edgar Wrights departure from the project in the latter stages, it has to be said that Peyton Reed didn’t do all that bad a job. The film is fairly unique in terms of how it is executed when compared with other Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, offering effective comedy with some outstanding cinematic fight scenes.
Even before the film’s release there was talk of a sequel and where the character would go within the MCU. It has now been reported that not only will there be a sequel, but that Peyton Reed will potentially be returning as director. The officially titled Ant-Man and the Wasp is set for release in July 2018, assuming there are no directorial upsets.
The title offers the assumption that the film will focus on the characters of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and if the blossoming relationship in the first film is anything to go by, this is set to be just as entertaining. Whilst Lilly can by no means match Rudd in terms of comedy stylings and timings (which is understandable, given his immense comedic experience. Anchorman, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Wet Hot Summer etc) she does offer a sound base for him to bounce off. It was this that made Ant-Man so unique in its execution. The humanity within it, and the focus on smaller more family based problems rather than the end of the world. We can hope this continues into the sequel.
With the return of Peyton Reed the comedic element should remain. Reeds career may not have been a continuous well publicised success to the level that Edgar Wrights has, however given that he has given us hit comedies such as Yes Man, The Break Up and the well-received cult classic Bring It On it is fair to have some high hopes for Ant-Man and the Wasp, the first Marvel movie to have a female heroine in its title.
With the packed schedule for MCU Phase Three it is set to be a busy three years for Marvel fans as a number of films are set to be released, including Black Panther and Captain America: Civil War, also featuring Ant-Man.
