More Ant-Man news coming out of the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, and thus more opportunities for me to spin more puns related to shrinking and smallness!
“Big news about a tiny hero!” “Small hero. Big wallop.”
Anyway, Marvel Studios announced today who actors Corey Stoll (Netflix’s House of Cards) and Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Real Steel), already attached to the 2015 film, would portray in the upcoming movie. During the Marvel Studios panel, studio head Kevin Feige and actors Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas revealed that Cross would play Ant-man villain Darren Cross/Yellowjacket, while Lily would portray Hope Van Dyne.
Readers of Marvel’s Avengers comic books know that Yellowjacket is one of the superheroic personas that Hank Pym (who will be played by Douglas in the film), and the one he assumed when he was briefly kicked out of the team. The panel announced that, in the film, Darren Cross is a former business partner of Hank Pym, and that Cross will lead the company down a sinister road. Does the name Yellowjacket and its comic book history allude to the fact that Cross will take on a role of supervillany?
The name Hope Van Dyne has its own set of roots in Avengers lore. Janet Van Dyne is the name of Hank’s ex-wife, the superhero The Wasp, who divorced Hank after he hit her. Hope, on the other hand, is the offspring of Hank and Janet in an alternate timeline, becoming the supervillain The Red Queen. Does this hint that Janet will make an appearance in the film or that Hope has some connection to Hank?
This news comes off the heels of the release of concept art that was revealed to public on Friday.
The panel also released teaser footage from the film. For the love of all that’s holy and pure, Marvel, release that footage online. Like, today.
Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed, will be released on July 17, 2015.