With the imminent global release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, CINEMA PREMIERE was present at a virtual press conference that included the participation of the main cast, as well as members of the production team.
Randall Park, who plays FBI agent Jimmy Woo in the MCU, was responsible for moderating the appearances of Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/Wasp), Jonathan Majors (Kang the Pathfinder), Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet Van Dyne), Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym), Peyton Reed (director), Stephen Broussard (producer) and Kevin Feige (producer and president of Marvel Studios).
Beyond the usual comments in which the actors describe the characteristics of their characters in the context of the new film, some observations about the place of the third installment of Ant-Man in the MCU, the references for the design of production of the Quantum Realm and the relevance of Kang the Conqueror as an antagonist.
“This film starts what we call Phase 5, which begins a very specific story in the direction of some films of The Avengerscommented Kevin Feige.
The head honcho of Marvel Studios refers, of course, to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Warswhich are scheduled to premiere in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
You might also be interested: First reactions of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Kang the Conqueror’s first appearance in the comics was in issue #19 of The Fantastic Fourin October 1963. Since then and over the decades, this formidable villain —an entity that travels through time— has been portrayed with different versions.
“Who is Kang? I think this is the question that we will be answering for a long time,” Majors commented on the challenge that this represents. “The immediate answer would be that Kang is a time-traveling supervillain who is also a ‘nexus being’ (nexus beings are entities with the ability to affect probability, the future, and the flow of time). That leaves us with the concept of variants. There are multiple versions of Kang that are variants. These versions occupy different universes, multiverses, and have different intentions. They are all different beings. And I am still working to continue refining and refounding the lines that distinguish them”.
A challenge for the director Peyton Reed, responsible for the three films of ant man, was to find together with his team a new environment to present for this installment, one never seen before in the MCU. A work that was conceived over three and a half years.
“We talk about parallels with The Wizard of Oz, in terms of what it would mean to have a family reunion there. But all the visual elements were worked on for a long time by Peyton and his team,” Feige mentioned when referring to the influences. “We saw everything. From electron microscope photographs to magazine illustrations heavy metal of the seventies and eighties. There is also a bit of sorcery and sword elements. We wanted to assemble a team of artists to create the quantum realm. Something that no other Marvel movie has ever dealt with.”
Enough time has passed since the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for those who watched the movies in their childhood to have come of age. And not only that, but some of them have already been able to integrate into the film epic as a superhero. Actress Kathryn Newton describes her experience this way:
“Since i saw Hombre de HierroWhen I was probably 8 years old, I wanted to be a Marvel superhero. Those who have known me since high school know this too. It’s in the yearbook. And it’s funny because she wanted to be the greatest Marvel hero of all time. And it’s ironic because Cassie Lang gets to grow 40 feet. I am living proof that dreams do come true,” she commented with a laugh.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will have preview performances in Mexico starting on February 15.
Carlos Del Rio Incorrigible movie buff. Movie toy collector. Founder and host of @CinemaNET. Collaborator at Efekto Noticias and Filmmen. He writes for Cine PREMIERE since 2002.