There are few Marvel Cinematic Universe film franchises that don’t have a trilogy. Spider-Man nearly didn’t get one, and we all know why, but thankfully that was avoided. One Marvel title that hasn’t gotten three standalone films yet is the one that is often overlooked: Ant-Man.

That all changed this past weekend as Peyton Reed, who directed Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2017), signed on to direct the third installment of the film franchise for Marvel Studios. More on the report below.

Ant-Man and the Wasp
4K | Blu-ray | DVD | Digital
Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Paul Rudd
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas
Studio: Marvel Studios
Rated PG-13 | 118 Minutes
Release Date: October 16, 2018

Ant-Man And The Wasp is Marvel Studios’ 20th film. Based on the heroes of the same name, director Peyton Reed‘s hilarious sequel finds Scott Lang, who is under house arrest after colluding with Captain America in Captain America: Civil War, in a position where he has to balance out his life as a superhero with his life as a father.

As with the previous Ant-Man film, the sequel takes place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is a film with contained story that only concerns itself with its own characters and their relationships. The only links to the MCU is that it acknowledges what Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) did in Germany and how he and everyone associated with him, including Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are paying the price.

In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is serving the remaining days of his house arrest in San Francisco as a consequence of his actions in the events of Captain America: Civil War. Approached by Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Lang must once again don the Ant-Man suit and fight alongside the Wasp. The urgent mission soon leads to secret revelations from the past as the dynamic duo finds themselves in an epic battle against a powerful new enemy.

We were fortunate enough to sit down with our fellow members of the press to talk about the film with Rudd, Lilly, director Peyton Reed, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. There they talked about writing the script, the logistics of filming a car chase, the film’s themes, and more. Check out what they had to say below.

Scott Lang’s (Paul Rudd) life will never be the same after the events of Captain America: Civil War. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, our title hero finds himself in familiar territory, an ex-convict who is trying to live on the straightened arrow. Well, an ex-convict who helped Captain America commit treason. But who remembers those things. Now with a few days of house arrest left, Scott feels like he can live on the straightened arrow. That is, until, he is pulled out of his house by Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). The two bring him a new mission that could potentially rescue Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm. But it won’t be easy, especially when you got the Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) going after Hank’s tech.

We were fortunate enough to sit down with our fellow journalists to talk to director Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige, along with Rudd, Lilly, John-Kamen, Douglas, and Laurence Fishburne about the film, its place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, villainy, and more. Check out what they had to say below.

Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Paul Rudd
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas
Studio: Marvel Studios
Rated PG-13 | 118 Minutes
Release Date: July 7, 2018

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a very interesting place right now. There is no doubt the fallout of the Avengers: Infinity War left some very deep emotional scars for fans and non-fans alike. That film took some pretty bold risks. And it paid off. Now the studio who placed their success on B-list heroes and relative unknowns can afford to make a few more gambles. Most of which will pay off anyway given the studio’s history. So it should come as no surprise that Ant-Man and the Wasp is yet another solid Marvel Studios film.

The sequel doubles down on the shrinking and growing abilities and integrates those elements into the innovative action sequences to deliver a visual feast that is big on excitement. Check out my full review below.