“I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects.”
The Big Picture
- Michael Douglas requested a dramatic death scene for Hank Pym in
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
. - Despite Douglas expressing interest in leaving the franchise, Marvel has not revealed the future of Hank Pym in the MCU.
-
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
faced financial struggles and mixed reviews, raising questions about its impact on Marvel’s lineup.
Michael Douglas made a splash last year when, on the red carpet for the premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, he admitted that the only condition under which he’d return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be if his character, Hank Pym, was killed off. However, Douglas has now made a surprising admission: he’s already asked to be taken out of the MCU and his request went unanswered. Amusingly, he even described in quite graphic detail how he would like to be forcibly removed from the franchise on screen, and it’s… quite colorful, to say the least. Douglas was appearing on The View, promoting his new historical series, Franklin, streaming on Apple TV+, when he made the remarks.
“[Getting killed off] actually was my request for the third one. I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects. There’s got to be some fantastic way where I can shrink to an ant size and explode, whatever it is. I want to use all those effects. But, that was on the last one. Now, I don’t think I’m going to show up [for a fourth].”
What Does Hank Pym’s Future in the MCU Look Like?
Hank Pym made it through the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it seems like Michael Douglas isn’t exactly eager to dive back into the MCU waters. Douglas has been the face of Hank Pym across all three Ant-Man films and even made a brief appearance in Avengers: Endgame. However, Marvel remains tight-lipped about the future trajectory of the Ant-Man saga. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania aimed to launch Phase Five of the MCU with a big bang, introducing a new, Thanos-esque adversary in Kang the Conqueror, played by the now-fired Jonathan Majors. Majors no longer works for Marvel after being charged and convicted of harassment.
Despite these lofty ambitions, the film didn’t exactly stick the landing. Critics were less than impressed with Quantumania, and audience interest sharply declined after a strong opening weekend. Ultimately, the sequel struggled at the box office, closing its global earnings shy of the $500 million mark — a stark contrast to its predecessors and a tough blow for Marvel’s 2023 lineup, which also saw The Marvels falter financially.
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania is available to stream now on Disney+, alongside all the other Ant-Man movies and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne are dragged into the Quantum Realm, along with Hope’s parents and Scott’s daughter Cassie. Together they must find a way to escape, but what secrets is Hope’s mother hiding? And who is the mysterious Kang?
- Release Date
- February 17, 2023
- Director
- Peyton Reed
- Cast
- Kathryn Newton , Evangeline Lilly , Michelle Pfeiffer , Paul Rudd , Michael Douglas , Jonathan Majors
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
- Writers
- Jack Kirby , jeff loveness
This article was originally published on collider.com