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Watch: Japanese Ant-Man trailer packed with new footage (and awesome narration)

We’re just a few weeks away from the premiere of Ant-Man, which introduces Marvel’s size-changing superhero to the big screen and closes out “Phase Two” of the studio’s cinematic universe. As is often the case with Marvel’s movies, there’s been no shortage of promotional clips released in the lead-up to Ant-Man‘s premiere. But in case you’re still wanting more, we’ve locked down this Japanese trailer that arrived online this week, showing off quite a bit of fresh footage from the highly anticipated film.

Narrated in Japanese with subtitles accompanying the English-language footage, the new trailer offers some background on Paul Rudd’s thief with the heart of a hero, Scott Lang, both in and out of his size-changing costume. More than anything else, the trailer emphasizes the reason Scott Lang agrees to work with scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to pull off a world-saving heist: He’s doing it all for his daughter.

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Still, the trailer manages to pack in a decent amount of action to go along with all that emotion, and we get a peek at some of the ways Rudd’s character uses the Ant-Man suit to get through tight spaces, as well as both the defensive and offensive abilities that the suit gives him.

Directed by Peyton Reed (Yes Man and Bring It On) the more we see of Ant-Man, the more the film seems to keep the director’s comedic sensibilities, along with those of the script’s writing staff — which includes Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, along with Paul Rudd, and Adam McKay — while still bringing some intriguing action to bear. That said, there have been some questions among the masses as to whether or not this rather obscure Marvel character can punch its own weight (no pun intended) in theaters. We’ll find out soon enough.

Along with Rudd and Douglas, the film stars Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies), Corey Stoll (The Strain, House of Cards), Judy Greer (Archer, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Martin Donovan (Inherent Vice, Insomnia), and Wood Harris (Dredd, Remember the Titans).

Ant-Man hits theaters July 17.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
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