Ant-Man and The Wasp – Will It Be That Good?

Ant-Man and The Wasp will be debuting in theatres July 6, 2018. Much speculation is made of the storyline but what we do know is that it will directly follow the events of the most anticipated movie of 2018, Avengers: Infinity War. I can’t help but wonder if it can possibly deliver on the level that we as fans expect it to deliver on. I mean, Infinity War is THE movie that the world has been waiting for. And because of this, is Ant-Man and The Wasp doomed to “fail” by Marvel standards? Or, can the studio continue the inevitable momentum that they will carry from Infinity War and deliver yet another knock out blow? 

Second time’s a charm? 

By any other studios measure, Ant-Man was a huge success. By Marvel’s, however, it did ok. It was funny, different and entertaining but only, and I use that word very hesitantly, brought in $515 Million. Even though it was a modest success by Marvel standards, it was enjoyed by the audience. It did what very few studios could do. It took a relatively unknown and smaller than life hero, and successfully launched him into their shared universe. But it didn’t do it alone. Paul Rudd was perfect. He brought his unique personality and sense of humor to the project and brought it the right way. More than any of these, it introduced the world to the Quantum Realm, which will certainly become one of the studios focal points moving forward. 

Can Ant-Man and The Wasp do the same? Can they not only capitalize but repeat what made the movie so good? Or will it be a re-hash of something already done? I look to you Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.

Time for a co-lead not named Steve Rogers or Tony Stark

In case you didn’t see it, The Wasp was introduced in Ant-Man. She made an appearance in the form of both Janet Van Dyne, and Hope Pym. With Janet, it was in the form of a flashback and as Hope, at the end of the credits, we saw her costume. 

What has me so excited is that for the first time in Marvel Studios history, a female character is co-headlining the movie. 

Sure, Black Widow is a prominent figure in the movies, but her name is not in any one title, nor is her character part of the framework for any particular movie. And before you get upset, yes, Captain Marvel in on her way. But neither of these 1) count and 2) are here. The movie is titled Ant-Man and The Wasp. Not Ant-Man part 2 or Ant-Man and company. 

Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Marvel has done a controversial job at keeping their female characters in a secondary role. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of the experience. The audience is not an all-male crowd and finally, Marvel understands this. It will be interesting to see how Marvel rolls this out and shares the screentime between the two actors. Even more interesting will be if they then spin The Wasp off into her own movie.

Wonder Woman has done it.

Captain Marvel will do it.

Can The Wasp?

Is the Wasp going to be a big deal?

Avengers Infinity War is destined to be big. With so many characters and so many storylines, I can’t help but wonder if we will see The Wasp before we see The Wasp?. It doesn’t appear as though she has been credited in the movie, but will Marvel do pull the tablecloth from under us and surprise us with her?

Maybe, just maybe they will do it in the same way that they did both Spider-Man and Giant Man in Captain America: Civil War. They have already witnessed the power of the cameo. After the two appeared in Civil War, it was all the world talked about. In a world that is built upon word of mouth and massive marketing agencies, this is the sort of publicity that cannot be bought.

Granted, I don’t believe that The Wasp commands the same sort of attention as Giant Man and Spider-Man, (mainly because we already know she is set to appear later this year) but her appearance would leave the world talking. 

What if one of them don’t make it out of Avengers Infinity Wars?

As two of the founding members of The Avengers, both Ant-Man and The Wasp have a longstanding history with the team. What happens when one of them doesn’t make it out of Infinity War? How does that change the future for either of them? 

Most likely, this will not happen because, well, it doesn’t seem to make too much sense. They are the follow-up movie to Infinity War and to lose one of them mere months before, isn’t something that Marvel would intelligently do. However, if they did, it would send the world into pandemonium. Just thinking about it gives me the chills. 

But none of that actually matters because this movie has that red and white logo attached to it, it will do just fine. In fact, Marvel has built themselves so much credibility, that even a bad movie couldn’t put more than a small crack in their armor. 

What are your thoughts?

Cheers,

Jeff

Title Image © Marvel

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