While it’s unknown exactly how much input Oscar-nominated writer and director Adam McKay had on last year’s Ant-Man, the involvement of the Anchorman and The Big Short filmmaker in developing the film’s script was quite a big deal when it was first announced, and likely resulted in a very funny script becoming even funnier. Fans of the franchise can rest easy, as McKay confirmed this week that he’ll be back for the film’s sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Much like McKay’s work on the first film, the exact role he’ll play in the sequel remains somewhat vague, but he indicated that talks are indeed underway with Marvel Studios.
“We’ve been talking to Marvel actually,” McKay revealed in a recent interview with Nerdist. “We just talked to them the other day, and it looks like I will be involved. I don’t know if it’s gonna be right from page one. But it looks like I will definitely be involved. There you go.”
Brought in to revise the Ant-Man script less than a month after original writers Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish departed the project in 2014, McKay was initially offered the director’s chair on the film but declined, only to stay on as a writer under director Peyton Reed. McKay and Ant-Man star Paul Rudd then set to work revising the script to bring it into Marvel’s cinematic universe and “punch up” some of the comedy.
Rudd and McKay ended up sharing screenwriting credit with Wright and Cornish in the final cut of the film.
The script for Ant-Man and the Wasp is currently being penned by writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, who are also working on scripts for the next Transformers movie and a Sabrina the Teenage Witch movie (both expected to hit theaters in 2017). Ant-Man and the Wasp is currently targeting a 2018 release date.
With McKay currently making the Oscar rounds for The Big Short and his next few projects already lined up, it’s likely that he won’t be able to take a major role in Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, he joined Ant-Man just a few months before filming started, so anything’s possible.
With Rudd returning as the titular, size-changing Marvel superhero, Ant-Man and the Wasp will also see the return of Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, who’s set to suit up as The Wasp in the upcoming film. Michael Douglas is also expected to reprise his role as Hank Pym, Hope’s father, in the film. And Reed is also expected to return as director.
Ant-Man and The Wasp will buzz into theaters July 6, 2018.
