ant-man and the wasp

After Edgar Wright famously parted ways with Marvel on Ant-Man, Adam McKay was briefly in talks to direct before Peyton Reed signed on for the job. Although the timing didn’t work out, McKay still did some work on the script with Paul Rudd, and it’s been reported that Marvel is still very much interested in having him do something more substantial in the MCU. According to McKay, he might be returning fairly soon.

Just a couple of weeks ago Marvel readjusted their upcoming slate of films, shifting the release dates of Black Panther and Captain Marvel to allow for Ant-Man and the Wasp, the official sequel to this year’s Ant-Man. It seemed a bit obvious that director Peyton Reed would return (especially when he tweeted about the sequel), though Marvel hasn’t made anything official until today.

China: They make people for Earth, stuff for America, and blockbusters for Hollywood. As one of the fastest-growing markets on the planet, Hollywood films constantly jockey for supremacy in the bustling, densely overpopulated China. And every now and then, the Chinese moviegoing public can provide an American film with a valuable infusion of box-office capital, certifying a smash hit or creating new ones from struggling pictures. This past weekend, the folks at Marvel Studios received a pleasant surprise via a reminder of China’s buying power when their Ant-Man performed impressively at the Asian box offices.

When Marvel originally revealed their plans for Phase 3, conspicuously missing was a date for Ant-Man 2. There was some concern that Ant-Man may never get his sequel and would have to be content appearing in other Marvel things (like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War), but those concerns have been allayed by Marvel who officially announced Ant-Man and the Wasp will open in theaters in 2018!