Ant-Man 3: Release Date, Cast, Story Details, Will It Happen?
Marvel heroes who have gotten solo movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have had at least three, so when can fans expect Ant-Man 3 to arrive? The MCU as the world now knows it began in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which set the basis for the tone of the movies that followed and prepared the ground for the arrival of the Avengers. As the MCU progressed, more characters from Marvel Comics got their big-screen debut, among those Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man.
After a couple of obstacles in pre-production, with director Edgar Wright leaving the project and Peyton Reed taking the lead, Ant-Man was released in 2015. The movie followed Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a master thief who ended up taking part in the experiments of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) involving a super-suit that allows him to shrink in scale but increase in strength. Ant-Man was praised for its sense of humor and got a sequel in 2018, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, with Evangeline Lilly reprising her role as Hope van Dyne a.k.a. Wasp.
Though Ant-Man and the Wasp was well-received by critics and viewers, Marvel has taken it easy with a third Ant-Man film, which has been teased multiple times yet was left out of the MCU’s Phase 4. Here’s everything known so far about Ant-Man 3 and what to expect from it.
Ant-Man 3’s future has been a mystery for a while, with Marvel and the crew giving contradicting information – and while he might not be the most popular nor memorable MCU character, there’s no reason for Marvel to not give him a third solo adventure. In November 2019, Peyton Reed signed on to direct Ant-Man 3, with Jeff Loveness joining the project in April 2020. Ant-Man 3 is set to happen at some point, though how soon is still unknown.
The MCU’s Phase 4 schedule is full, and there’s no Ant-Man 3 in it. Details on when the movie will go into production change depending on who you ask, but the latest information on it is that it will start filming in June 2021. With that in mind, Ant-Man 3 would then be part of Phase 5, and Marvel has a couple of dates saved for 2022 and 2023, of which one could be for Scott Lang’s next solo movie. If everything goes according to plan and production isn’t delayed, Ant-Man 3 could then be released in February or July 2022.
Ant-Man 3 would obviously have to have Paul Rudd back as the title hero, and given the importance of Hope in the Ant-Man trilogy, Evangeline Lilly would surely be back as well. Michael Douglas has been very vocal about his interest in a third Ant-Man movie, teasing announcements and updates, so his involvement is pretty much confirmed. Aside from them, it’s unclear who else could be coming back, but fans surely hope that Michael Peña will reprise his role as Luis and Michelle Pfeiffer will return as Janet van Dyne, more so now that she was rescued from the Quantum Realm.
The MCU hasn’t really explored the Quantum Realm, so Ant-Man 3 will be a good opportunity to do so, especially after rescuing Janet and Scott spending five years there following Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War. Ant-Man and the Wasp saw Ava a.k.a. Ghost escape and Scott, Hank, Hope, and Janet working on harvesting quantum realm energy to help her remain stable, so Ant-Man 3 could follow that up while also visiting the Quantum Realm and, hopefully, explain more about it and the multiverse as well.