According to star Michael Douglas, Ant-Man 3 is heading to London in July to film. After the first two movies exceeded beyond the expectations of both critics and audiences, Marvel did not hesitate to move forward with the franchise in Phase 4. With Douglas confirmed to be returning, it looks like the Ant-Man franchise will be a proper trilogy after all.
The first Ant-Man easily won over audiences when it premiered in 2015, despite some drama when original director, Edgar Wright, left during pre-production due to creative differences with the studio. Peyton Reed stepped in to direct and delivered a film that fans and most critics enjoyed nonetheless, and continued his success with Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018. Though the films seem smaller in scale compared to other MCU films (no pun intended), many consider the lower stakes of the Ant-Man franchise an asset, as it allows the movies to focus more on the characters.
Douglas confirmed that he would be heading to London to shoot Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania in July during a recent interview with Deadline. He explained that with his co-stars and the "incredible special effects going on and greenscreens" the experience was very different from other productions he had been on. He was only one small piece of the puzzle, no easy feat with Douglas being the legendary actor he is, but he enjoyed himself as he had "never done any special effects movies before." His full quote is below, coming right after he is asked about the most fun set he has been on:
"Probably the Ant-Man films. You’re just such a small part, but you have all the incredible special effects going on and green screens. And you spend half the time putting dots on your face. It was a whole different type of filmmaking. I’ve never done any special effects movies before, or any sort of green screen. Paul Rudd was wonderful, Evangeline [Lilly] was great, and all of the other co-stars. That was a lot of fun. We’re starting at third one now. We’re going to London to do an Ant-Man 3 in July."
The third Ant-Man movie was green lit back in November of 2019, with both Reed and Paul Rudd announcing their returns to direct and star, respectively. While some filming began early in 2021 during the pandemic, Douglas speaking of going to London matches with news of principal photography for the film beginning in mid-July. If Marvel and Disney keep to the current MCU Phase 4 schedule, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be released in theaters on February 17, 2023.
Douglas's statement about Ant-Man likely being the most fun set he has worked on explains a lot about the success of the franchise. Despite all the production obstacles, the films have a certain charm, humor, and passion that most of the time only comes when the people involved really love what they are making and want to see it succeed. Hopefully they can manage to keep that going in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as the studio might be a bit more involved with the third film of the trilogy, considering how it likely ties in directly to the main multiverse story of Phase 4. If they manage to pull it off, the third chapter might just be the biggest and best of the Ant-Man story.
SOURCE: Deadline
