Fans of Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, the rest of the ‘Loki’ gang (and multiverses in general), get ready to be happy. Because the Marvel Disney+ series about the character is back in just a few days’ time.
Yet Season 1 screened back in 2021, so what if you’ve forgotten some of the pertinent details and need a refresher? Never fear, we are here to help. Like the Time Variance Agency, we will make sure you are on the right track (and we won’t prune you out of existence, either).
Created and run by Michael Waldron (who would end up spending more time in parallel dimensions when he was hired to re-write Marvel movie sequel ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, ‘Loki’ picks up the story of Tom Hiddleston’s title character back at a time when he was very much more a villain than the heroic character he has become in the likes of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.
You’ll recall that Loki spotted a chance to escape custody at the end of ‘The Avengers’ when heroes such as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) travel back in time looking for the Tesseract. Instead of them getting it then, Loki grabs it and uses it to transport himself away.
But he is picked up by agents of the Time Variance Authority, where he has been deemed a dangerous “variant”, a chaotic version of himself that disrupts the timeline that the authority –– or so it claims –– is working to protect. A bureaucratic, retro-futuristic organization that exists outside of time and space, it gives Loki a choice: face being erased from existence due to being a or help fix the timeline and stop a greater threat.
Loki ends up in his own crime thriller, traveling through time hunting a female version of himself named Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino).
Sylvie, as mentioned, is a female Loki Variant. Targeted for “pruning” (AKA removing from the timeline), she’s been fighting back across time and space, looking to discover the truth behind the TVA.
She’s causing chaos to attract the organization’s attention and ends up crossing paths with our Loki.
The two actually start to fall for each other, realizing their innate connection. But after figuring they could hide in apocalypses (as Sylvie has been doing), their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when they are brought before He Who Remains (but more on him later) and ends up killing him, shoving Loki into a portal.
She will be back for Season 2, so we’ll find out what happens between the two Lokis. Let’s be honest: “it’s complicated” barely begins to encompass this one.
One of the first faces that any arriving prisoner sees is Miss Minutes, an animated clock who cheerily greets people. Voiced by Tara Strong, this mascot provides information –– but she’s also got a hidden agenda.
The authority is overseen by the “Timekeepers”, mysterious creatures represented by statues in a hidden chamber that some at the TVA see as godlike. As it turns out, that’s a giant lie crafted by He Who Remains (again, more later).
The Timekeepers are androids created to control the TVA and its employees, who, it is revealed, were not specially created to work there, but were in fact all variants themselves, with their memories wiped.
Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson): An agent of the TVA who specializes in the investigations of particularly dangerous time criminals. He befriends Loki, and the two work the Sylvie case. But once he learns about his variant nature, he helps Loki and Sylvie battle his former employers.
Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw): A former TVA Hunter known as A-23, who rose from the ranks to become a respected judge; she oversees the Loki variant investigation. An ambitious, fervent believer in the TVA’s mission, she’s forced to face hard truths about the organization. And when they are revealed, she vanishes into a portal in search of free will.
Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku): A high ranking Hunter of the TVA determined to stop the variant that has been killing Minutemen troops. She’s among those who believe the Timekeepers are gods.
Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane): A TVA Hunter kidnapped and enchanted by Sylvie to reveal the location of the Timekeepers.
At one point, Loki is “pruned” and banished to an apocalyptic, ruined New York, and meets a host of other variants of himself, including Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) who wears a comic-accurate costume and has more extensive illusionary powers than Hiddleston’s version.
There are various others, including Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei) and, of course, Alligator Loki (himself), who we can all agree is the best Loki.
That is being complicated for Marvel by the allegations surrounding Majors’ personal life, but he is back for Season 2, playing Victor Timely, yet another Kang variant. He has been somewhat downplayed in the promos for the new season, but we’ll see how much he appears in the show itself.
‘Loki’ will launch with its first episode (of a planned six) on October 6th. Will the producers announce a third season at the end of the second? Only time will tell…
The reaction to Marvel’s most recent TV offering, ‘Secret Invasion’ (in which Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury tackles an uprising by dissatisfied members of the alien Skrull race) has been, it’s fair to say, somewhat muted. The reviews were not kind and the viewing figures (at least as far as Disney+ allows them to be known) were lackluster.
Marvel Studios (and Disney at large), then, will be keeping their corporate fingers crossed for bigger and better things from the return of ‘Loki’ to screens. And with Tom Hiddleston back as the title character for more chaos, our hopes are that this will deliver more solid entertainment. From the looks of the first trailer, it’s certainly promising.
This new season picks up in the aftermath of the shocking season finale when Loki finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius (Owen Wilson), Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), Judge Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.
Loki’s got more than just the TVA situation too, as following his trip to a parallel timeline, he’s now glitching in time and needs some help to sort that out. He and Mobius go to see mysterious new character OB, played by Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan.
‘Loki’ Season 2 will see with Loki and Mobius poking around into the past to learn more about Kang (Jonathan Majors), or the man who became He Who Remains, which hopefully brings a solution to the whole time-slipping situation too. Cue a trip to an old-timey fair, which seems to connect with the post-credits sting of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, with Majors turning up as ‘Victor Timely’. While Majors doesn’t appear much in the trailer, it does seem here that he will remain present in Season 2. Marvel is yet to comment on, or announce plans for, Majors’ ongoing role as Kang in the wake of his arrest and the abuse allegations against him.
With luck, the return of Di Martino’s Sylvie will also keep us guessing as to her real agenda (she’s pictured at one point in a McDonald’s uniform), while Miss Minutes is something of a bigger threat this time around –– literally.
‘Loki’ Season 2 will launch on Disney+ on October 6th. The streaming service has yet to announce how many episodes of the six-episode run will debut that day.
Now available on digital, and available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD beginning May 16th is ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ which is the third film in the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise, and the first movie to be released in Marvel’s Phase 5.
What is the Plot of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
Who is in the Cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
The cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ includes returning MCU actors Paul Rudd (‘Avengers: Endgame’) as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly (‘Real Steel’) as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer (‘Batman Returns’) as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas (‘Basic Instinct’) as Dr. Hank Pym, and Randall Park (‘Aquaman’) as Jimmy Woo, as well as Kathryn Newton (‘Freaky’) joining the series as an older version of Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors (‘Creed III’) as Kang the Conqueror – a variant of his ‘Loki’ character He Who Remains, Katy O’Brian (‘The Mandalorian’) as Jentorra, and Bill Murray (‘Ghostbusters’) as Krylar.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress Katy O’Brian about her work on ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ joining the MCU, creating her character, researching Jentorra in the comics, her deleted scene with Bill Murray, working with Paul Rudd, being directed by Peyton Reed, fighting Kang the Conqueror, and where in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Jentorra will appear next.
You can read the full transcript below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, you’ve appeared in a DC project with ‘Black Lightening,’ a ‘Star Wars’ project with ‘The Mandalorian,’ and even Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,’ but ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ marks your first time working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so what was it like for you to officially join the MCU with this movie?
Katy O’Brian: I wanted to be in a Marvel movie. I think a lot of actors, that’s like a big goal. So the fact that I even got an audition I was excited about and having booked it just seemed completely unreal. Every moment was awesome. It’s huge scenery, and a huge project. It’s the end of the world every time and it was great. I felt like everyone was really welcoming coming in the third part of the franchise. Paul was super great to work with, really welcoming, just really unassuming and lets you drop your guard really quickly. It was just Peyton Reed, the director, he’s phenomenal. He’s so sweet. So it really just felt like I was walking onto the set, walking into a family basically, and they welcome you with open arms.
MF: Can you talk about creating Jentorra? She only appeared in a few comics, but did you research her Marvel history to give you a better understanding of her backstory?
KO: I mean, when I’d spoken to Peyton, he pretty much said it’s not really going the comic route at all for Jentorra. Just by appearance alone, it was pretty obvious, you know? I’m not green, and I’m not blonde. They don’t really bring much of her magic into it or anything like that. So right off the bat he was saying more barbarian, like ‘Red Sonja’, having a really strong, powerful presence. What I love to add to characters is give them a little something that isn’t your super stereotypical warrior person. So I wanted also to have someone who deeply cared, genuinely cared, on an emotional level, and wasn’t afraid to be emotional with her people. Up until I saw the full hair, makeup, wardrobe, my staff, I was questioning how I’m supposed to play this character. I’m like the only straight character in a comedic world. So I felt like really out of place, and I was so worried I’d be boring and all these other things. But the second I saw the uniform, got covered in the dirt, grime, sweat and goo, and then got the magic staff in my hand, just everything clicked and it just felt right.
MF: There are a few deleted scenes on the Blu-ray and DVD, but I understand that you also shot a deleted scene with Bill Murray that did not make the home entertainment release. Can you talk about shooting that and what happens in the scene?
KO: We had a whole section of, basically, it would’ve added quite a bit of time to the movie. But he didn’t originally get killed or whatever happened. We had a whole spaceship pursuit with him, and he wound up with Kang and M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll) and then was taken to a cell as well. So when I was freeing the rest of my people, he was there, had some witty quips, and then we all go off together. So I mean, that was pretty much the majority of that. Just some cool jail time and maybe not as much respect for my character as he was pretending to have for himself. Then just other things that might have gotten deleted on my end. I just think a couple little fight clips and stuff. We had a moment at the end where I was fighting and the ants show up, and I have a very brief interaction with the ants and I’m just like, what in the world’s going on? So just some little things like that that I’m sure were just cut for time. I mean in reality it is a bunch of really big beefy stunt dudes in green suit running around tackling people. So it was really fun to be a part of.
MF: Can you talk about working with Paul Rudd on set?
KO: It’s interesting that my interactions with him generally, it was pretty serious all in all. That’s where he started to realize the situation that he wound up in. So there was some offset jokes and every now and then he would just carry a scene after we were done, or if someone messed up, just keep going with that. But honestly, the person it was hardest to keep a straight face with was Kathryn Newton because her character was supposed to be, I guess, in awe of my character. So every time her mouth is wide open, her eyes are wide open and just looks so ridiculous that I couldn’t keep a straight face.
MF: What was it like being directed by Peyton Reed and walking on to the incredible Quantum Realm sets he created?
KO: He designed all of these wonderful sets, and it was like you didn’t really have to pretend you were transported into this world. Super small details were added. We had real dirt under our feet, and at certain times we had actual flames going up and had to dive around fire. It really felt larger than life and the set was massive. They’re just absolutely massive. So you had a lot of space to move around in, and I think Peyton did an amazing job bringing that world to life, but also showing how big it was, but just managing the time, using the space, taking the same space, and making it look completely different. It was awesome.
MF: Can you talk about Jentorra’s war against Kang the Conqueror?
KO: I don’t think that she acknowledges Kang as someone who runs the Quantum Realm. I think she acknowledges, he is basically using their energy source, their land and their people for his means, but against their best interests. I think it’s a pretty understandable point of view of you’ve destroyed my world, you’ve destroyed the world of all of these people and only for your specific gain. He has no friends. He has no equals. It’s a very, very selfish viewpoint. I don’t think they ever had a sit down and chat of like, “Hey, why are you doing this?” It was just very clearly, your reasons do not align with mine. So I think obviously he is a good villain in that sense that there’s no redemption to him. And you got M.O.D.O.K. who comes in and terrorizes the village. It’s funny because we had to be scared of him, but when you see him, he looks absolutely ridiculous. So I was just like, are you serious? I got to be afraid of this thing. But you think of something that just rolls through your village and kills half of them in one sweep. That’s pretty terrifying all in all. So she’s got a lot on her plate and a lot to overcome. But the thing with Jentorra, unlike Kang, is she’s got heart with her. She’s got people that actually care about the cause, their land, their friends and family. So I think she’s got a good backing because she’s not alone.
MF: Finally, where do you think Marvel fans will see Jentorra next?
KO: It’s so interesting because the thing about the Quantum Realm is that it is outside of space and time, so with the whole multiverse thing, I almost wonder the only way that she would really be able to interact is if they start pushing more people into the Quantum Realm, which she wouldn’t be too happy about and is probably now ruled by ants. Or maybe someone somehow pulled her out. Then I was joking on the internet that I think a great multiverse Jentorra would be Danny DeVito. I don’t know. I think it’d be really fun to see. But yeah, I just think anything’s possible. She could show up anywhere and I would love to see her come back again.
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is produced by Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige Productions. It is available now on digital, and available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD beginning May 16th.
Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed faces off against Jonathan Majors’ Damian Anderson in ‘Creed III’. This movie also serves as Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut who has been starring in the sports franchise since 2015.
Following the events of 2018’s ‘Creed II’, Adonis “Donnie” Creed is considering retirement as the undisputed Heavy Weight Champion of the World when his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian “Dame” Anderson comes back into his life, throwing everything into disarray. The film puts the two former friends at odds and Donnie will have to fight in the most emotional match yet.
“After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damien Anderson, resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damien – a fighter who has nothing to lose.”
‘Creed III’ opened to $58.3 million domestially, $22 million more than ‘Creed II’. It is certified Tomatoe-meter fresh with a 89% score from critics and 96% from audience. The third installment has grossed $272 million worldwide since it’s release.
Helming a popular franchise such as ‘Creed’ is no easy task, yet Michael B. Jordan took on the challenge of being both the lead of the film and stepping behind the camera to direct. The star’s impressive resume and dedication shows as the film balances its action, heart, and humor extremely well.
Jordan kept the tone from the the previous ‘Creed’ films such as the action and redemption arc while adding his own flavor like utilizing slow-motion in the ring. This helped emphasis each punch and by using it sparingly, it didn’t make it feel like a gimmick. Jordan’s love of anime can also be seen in his directorial style. The actor has spoken about his love for animes such as ‘Naruto’, ‘Dragonball Z’, and ‘One Piece’, and using it as a visual reference for some of the fight scenes.
Cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau light the actors in such a unique and abstract way for the final match, using colors like red and green to emphasis what they’re feeling as they made their walk toward the ring. Morgenthau worked with Crafty Apes, the VFX team, to map out the final moments and by using a motion-control camera, the fight was immersive and distinctive.
With a stellar box office and reception, a “Creed-verse” may not be too far off. According to Deadline, Jordan has met with Amazon to explore other ‘Creed’ related projects. No details are confirmed but there are talks of spin-off projects such as an anime series, live-action TV series, and even a story centered on Donnie’s daughter Amara, played by deaf actress Mila Davis-Kent. A spin-off movie based on Rocky’s nemesis Ivan Drago and his son Viktor Drago has also been announced. The possibility is endless when it comes to the Creed/Rocky universe, which is quite exciting for fans of the franchise.
Where Is Rocky?
(L to R) Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed II.’
One thing that was mising from ‘Creed III’ was Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa. Although Rocky has constantly been in Donnie’s corner in each movie, this is the first film in the ‘Creed’ saga to not feature the character. They do mention his name once during the film but Rocky’s whereabouts was not clear, so what happened?
Although Stallone created the characters in the original ‘Rocky’, he sold the rights to producer Irwin Winkler and MGM in order to have the first film made, therefore he has no real say in the future of the franchise. Stallone did not agree with the direction Winkler wanted to take with the franchise, and felt it was too dark.
We don’t know whether Stallone will return to the franchise, but his absence was definitely noticeable as someone who had been a mentor for Donnie since the first ‘Creed’ film.
The film premiered in Mexico City on February 9, 2023 and released theatrically in the United States on March 3, 2023. It is the third film in the ‘Creed’ franchise and the 19th film in the ‘Rocky’ saga. ‘Creed III’ has a total runtime of 1 hour and 56 minutes. You can still experience the boxing action-drama in theaters. Be sure to check below for showtimes in your area.
Watch the official trailers for ‘Creed III’ below:
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Prefer to watch experience the movie from your home? You’re in luck. ‘Creed III’ is now available to rent or purchase digitally on the Amazon streaming service, Prime Video as of April 1, 2023.
Years after the events of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’, is not only known as a member of the Avengers who helped save the world, but a successful author of his memoir “Look Out For The Little Guy” and popular podcaster. Despite his happy life, Lang desperately tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) to make up for the years lost due to Thano’s snap. Meanwhile, Cassie has been building a device to communicate with the Quantum Realm with the help of Hank and Hope. This resulted in the Ant-family being pulled into the Quantum Realm and set off to battle a formidable opponent.
The official synopsis for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is below:
“Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.”
Fans have long heard about the Quantum Realm since the first ‘Ant-Man’ movie. It’s always been depicted as dangerous and unpredictable, and it was further confirmed by Janet Van Dyne who refused to talk about it even to her own family members. Due to the mishap of Cassie’s communication device, the family got a firsthand experience at what the Quantum Realm is all about.
The world is vibrant and wild, filled with various lifeforms and citizens who are on the brink of a rebellion. This is where Janet’s backstory gets fully flushed out – giving a closer look at the years she’s spent in the Quantum Realm, how she survived, and how she meets the film’s ultimate baddie – Kang.
The audience also points out the similarities between the Quantum Realm and ‘Star Wars,’ especially in the bar scene and the use of practical creatures. After all these years of hearing about the Quantum Realm, it was a treat to see finally experience it on the big screen.
Upon the announcement that the next Avengers movie will be called ‘Avengers: Kang Dynasty’, fans have been curious and excited to see who will play Kang and how will his character will be portrayed on screen. Kang (Jonathan Major) was first introduced in season 1 of the Disney+ series ‘Loki’, but it’s not the same version as the Kang we meet in the movie. The Kang from ‘Loki’ calls himself He Who Remains and famously said to Loki and Sylvie: “If you think I’m evil, just wait till you meet my variants.” Enter Kang The Conqueror who we meet in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ – formidable and ruthless. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for multiple Kangs to come in the future of the MCU.
We also get to meet another popular villain in the movie, in the form of M.O.D.O.K aka Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing. This character deviates quite a bit from the comic books but connects directly to the first Ant-man film. Although MODOK creates some comedic moments in the movie, he also serves as quite the challenge for our heroes. Fans are split as to whether this iteration of MODOK worked or not.
Is ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ still in theaters?
The film first premiered at the Regency Village Theater on February 2, 2023 and opened domestically on February 17, 2023. There might still be a chance to catch the movie on the big screen, check below for showtimes in your area, but do know it is very limited.
When Will ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Be Available To Stream?
Lucky for us, we can watch our favorite tiny heroes from home via digital purchase starting April 18th. For those who prefers physical copies, you can purchase the movie on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 16, 2023 (pre-order available). It is unclear when the Marvel flick will be available on Disney+.
‘Creed III‘ will open in theaters on March 3rd and is the third film in the ‘Creed’ series, the ninth movie set in the ‘Rocky’ universe, and the first film directed by actor Michael B. Jordan.
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What is ‘Creed III’ about?
‘Creed III’ follows the events of 2018’s ‘Creed II,‘ and features Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) ready to retire from professional boxing as the undisputed Heavy Weight Champion of the World. But when Donnie’s childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long prison sentence, he asks Donnie for help returning to the ring and winning the championship. But once Anderson is champion, he turns on Donnie personally and publicly, forcing Creed back into the ring to fight his former friend, facing an opponent he’s never fought before – a fighter who has nothing to lose!
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actor and director Michael B. Jordan and actor Jonathan Majors about their work on ‘Creed III,’ what viewers need to know to prepare for this film, the deep relationship between Donnie and Dame, and Jordan’s work behind the camera.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jordan, Majors, and actress Tessa Thompson.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would each of you say to viewers sitting down to watch this movie to prepare them for the film experience they are about to have?
Michael B. Jordan: I mean, just have an open mind and an open heart, and buckle up because it’s a ride. Once we get started, I’ll see you in two hours and I’ll check in on you on how you feel.
Jonathan Majors: There’s no way to prepare yourself for ‘Creed III.’ You got to come in with your dukes up. Doesn’t matter, it’s a knockout. Bob and weave, come with an open heart, and come with an open mind. These are familiar characters being looked at in a very different way. You’re going to see Adonis Creed in a very unique way that’s going to give you even more insight to the hero, primarily because of the introduction of Damian Anderson, his long lost friend. You’re in for a wild fight. Flex them up!
Michael B. Jordan directs and stars as Adonis Creed in ‘Creed III.’
MF: Michael, can you talk about your vision for this film, particularly the fight sequences, and as a director, what it was like working with your cast and crew to execute that?
MBJ: I mean, as far as the boxing sequences for me, it’s probably the part of the story that I’ve daydreamed and thought about the most over the past eight years. When you’re involved in a process and you think about boxing and fights, there’s certain things that you’re curious about wanting to try, and obviously they don’t make it to every movie. So I’ve been kind of compiling a list of things that I’ve always wanted to kind of try, and then also trying to make this one feel fresh and different.
So leaning on my love of Japanese anime and the spirit of that, and how I can make things feel different, and pitching that to my cast and my crew. Getting everybody on the same visual reference point of what kind of film we’re making, and what type of creative swings that we would be taking and just going out and just doing it. It’s like you got to go for it. So I think my love of anime definitely helped me creatively and artistically take some creative swings.
Jonathan Majors stars as Damian Anderson in ‘Creed III.’
MF: Jonathan, what was it like working with Michael, both as a scene partner and as a director?
JM: It was incredible. It was an experience as an actor, I’ve not had, and I don’t see it coming down the pipeline again. Where you have an actor that’s going to lead his own franchise as an actor and then also direct it. That’s just not something that people are driven to do. I mean, that seems quite difficult. It is difficult. I watched him deal with that difficulty with grace, elegance, confidence and conviction.
Because of that, we have the picture we have, and he gave a hell of a performance. So I got to witness it and it was a team effort, the building of Dame and the making of this film. But he was a leader throughout and he really orchestrated every day, even in the chaos, he was there and present, boots on the ground, gloves on to help us craft a story. So I can’t imagine, I don’t think anybody else could have directed the film, even if Mike was in it, and have the same outcome. I think this outcome is quite beneficial to cinema and to audiences.
MF: Finally, one of the taglines of the film is, “How do you fight a fighter with nothing to lose?” But I think it really should be, “How do you fight a fighter who knows you better than you know yourself?” Can you talk about the personal history between Dame and Donnie, and why that makes Anderson such a dangerous opponent for Creed?
MBJ: Well, I feel like the people that know you the most could hurt you the worst. So I think it’s one of those things where I really wanted to go back to Adonis’s childhood and make this an origin story of sorts, and a sequel and a trilogy all in one. And it’s also a origin story for Dame as well.
So I think to be able to go back there and go through that childhood trauma, and really understand Adonis’s first relationship, his first friendship, his first heartbreak, his first betrayal, just when he first get inspired, who taught him how to fight, who protected him, and all those things that make up the man that he is today, that we know him as. Then we pick up in present day and we have a little bit more context of who he is.
But then also you have to address your past in order to really move forward and become the best version of yourself. So we wanted to see Adonis struggle with that, and struggle to talk about his past, and struggle to talk about how he feels about certain things, and see what that does to the people that are around him, his loved ones. How does that affect them? How does that affect him? Then to see him pull it out and actually rise to the mountaintop, I thought was truly inspiring.
JM: Yeah, it’s a familiar trope, isn’t it? But it’s probably the most real and the most dangerous. When you fight someone that knows you better than you know yourself, the only way to win is to grow and to engender something new in yourself. That’s very interesting.
Dame is literally the fellow who taught Adonis how to fight, and how to throw those punches. Yes, he is from the Creed stock, he is the son of a champion, but that champion was not there to teach him how to use the tools that he was given, endowed with by birth. Dame is the one who teaches him how to exercise his birth right. So there’s a social and an emotional debt that someone has to overcome.
So it transcends this idea of, “Oh, I know you physically. I know you socially and emotionally.” So I mean, that’s why we have our picture. Dame represents that in such a strong way that it really is a David vs. Goliath story on multiple levels. Adonis has to overcome that. And in the overcoming of it, he grows.
‘Creed III’ is produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Outlier Society Productions, Proximity Media, and Balboa Productions, and is scheduled for release on March 3rd.
Currently playing in theaters is ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ which is the third film in the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise, and the first movie to be released in Marvel’s Phase 5.
What is the Plot of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
The plot ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ revolves around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), along with Hope’s parents, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Lang’s daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), going on a new adventure exploring the Quantum Realm that pits them against a new and powerful villain, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
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Who is in the Cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
One again directed by Peyton Reed, the cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ includes returning MCU actors Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, as well as Kathryn Newton joining the series as an older version of Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror – a variant of his ‘Loki’ character He Who Remains, and Bill Murray as a new character named Krylar.
Why Was Cassie Lang Recast?
With the five-year time jump that takes place between ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ Marvel needed to cast an older version of Scott’s daughter Cassandra Lang for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’. Actress Kathryn Newton (‘Freaky’) takes over the role from Abby Ryder Forston who played the younger version of Cassie Lang in the previous two movies.
Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with Kathryn Newton about her work on ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ the success of the film, working with Paul Rudd, and why making the movie was a dream come true for her.
Kathryn Newton stars in Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania.’
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Kathryn Newton about ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’
Moviefone: To begin with, you recently said at the press conference for the film that you’ve dreamed of playing a Marvel superhero since you first saw ‘Iron Man.’ Now that you’ve done it, was the experience everything you dreamed it would be?
Kathryn Newton: Well, it really was a dream of mine ever since I saw ‘Iron Man.’ I was like, “I want to be Marvel’s biggest superhero of all time.” I had been acting since I was four. So my little eight-year-old mind thought, Marvel, that’s the real deal. And I still believe it’s the real deal. They have the greatest actors of all time in their movies, and I’ve just always wanted to be a part of the MCU.
I think it’s an honor to bring a comic book character to life, and I love the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise. I love Cassie Lang. I think she’s just like me, or I want to be like her. So it’s really an insane thing to be talking to you today, to have the number one movie in the world in theaters and I’m in the movie. It’s crazy. I know it’s corny, but dream big guys, and be specific because Cassie Lang grows 40-feet tall, so she just might be the biggest Marvel superhero of all time!
MF: Can you talk about Cassie and Scott’s father/daughter relationship in this movie?
KN: So Cassie Lang is a new version of this girl. She’s continuing the legacy of her father. She’s trying to be a hero just like him, and she has her own ideas about what’s right. She’s been away from him. So she had to make a choice. She was like, “My dad’s not here. But I’m going to be a good person.” I think that took a lot of bravery to do that, to be a good person.
Scott Lang and her are reconnecting and he’s got to kind of learn to accept this new version of his daughter, and it’s hard. She’s been keeping a lot of secrets, and trying to make him proud. I think you can feel that in the heart of this movie. She just cares about other people. But the one thing that’s kind of a problem is she’s a little bit impatient. She wants to be a hero right now. But he’s like, “No, no, not yet. You don’t know what you’re doing.” That’s kind of where we’re at in this movie.
MF: Is it difficult not laughing when you’re working with Paul Rudd?
KN: Yes. I can’t wait for you to see the gag reel. It’s hilarious. There’s these bits of Paul, and I’m just behind him trying so hard not to laugh, or just me blurting out laughing. I smiled so much making this movie, and in all the pictures of me on set, I’m smiling.
I’m really lucky that I got that opportunity because it was always a dream of mine. So I knew what a big deal it was to be a part of the MCU, but I never took it for granted that Paul Rudd was that incredible to work with. I mean, laughing every day is just a joy, and I promise you I had more fun and gave it everything I got. So I hope the audience can feel that.
KN: What was it like working with Jonathan Majors and watching his process creating the terrifying villain, Kang the Conqueror?
KN: It was really enlightening. He really brought everybody up. I think that he’s an incredible actor and an incredible Kang. I’m really excited for the next Phase 5 of Marvel, ‘The Kang Dynasty’ because they have Jonathan and he really cares. He’s not phoning it in. I’d meet him in the morning and he’s a ray of sunshine, and then he’d put his Kang cape on, and I didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
But he made me a better actor. He knew more about my character than I knew. At some points, that’s how it felt. I thought, “Why don’t I do that?” So for me, what I’m doing now is I took from Jonathan. I’m learning more about the other characters in the movie and then deciding who my character should be because it supports the story in a different way. Even the little bits I have with Kang in this movie, we talked about the characters, what Cassie was going through, who Kang is in this moment, and what he knows about Cassie Lang, their history and their future, just to play with, but not because we’re going to do anything about it.
But as an actor in Marvel, you have an encyclopedia of knowledge. You have so many comics and so many places that your character has been or could be going, but we don’t use any of that, right? We just think about it and then we do what’s on the page. But it was really fun to work with Jonathan because he goes that deep.
MF: Finally, do you know what is next for Cassie Lang in the MCU, and what would you like to see her doing in future Marvel movies?
KN: I have no idea. They don’t tell you anything. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be in another Marvel movie, but I will say that no matter what, even if I’m lucky enough, nothing will ever top this experience. Me and Paul Rudd running around laughing all day, making jokes. I had the time of my life and nothing will ever top it.
Witten by Jeff Loveness and directed by Peyton Reed, the sci-fi, action, adventure, comedy, mystery, thriller ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is scheduled for release from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures on February 17th 2023.
Opening in theaters on March 3rd is the third film in the ‘Creed’ series and the ninth movie set in the ‘Rocky’ universe entitled ‘Creed III,’ which also marks the directorial debut of Adonis “Donnie” Creed actor Michael B. Jordan.
What is ‘Creed III’ about?
Following the events of 2018’s ‘Creed II,’ Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is about to retire as the undisputed Heavy Weight Champion of the World. But when Creed’s childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he asks Donnie for help getting back into boxing, as he is determined to win the championship. Eventually, Donnie is forced back into the ring to fight his former friend, facing an opponent he’s never fought before – a fighter who has nothing to lose!
In his third outing as Adonis Creed, Michael B. Jordan gives another strong and dedicated performance but it is his work behind the camera that is truly impressive, while Jonathan Majors steals every scene he is in with his menacing and electrifying performance as Damian Anderson.
Michael B. Jordan is one of the best actors of his generation and has demonstrated this in moving independent features like ‘Fruitvale Station,’ and strong blockbusters like ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Creed.’ Returning for his third time as Adonis “Donnie” Creed, and first time without Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa (more on that later), Jordan gives a mature performance proving that the character has grown since the last we saw him.
This is an older Donnie, a successful professional athlete on the verge of retirement looking forward to spending more time with his aging mother, musician wife, and deaf daughter. But Donnie is haunted by his childhood living in an orphanage, before his father’s widow adopted him, and the dark secrets he has been hiding for most of his life. Once Damian returns, it stirs up these old feelings in Donnie, which Dame brilliantly uses to his advantage.
It seems as if Jordan is channeling some of himself into the role, as the megastar actor can relate to being financially successful, and the problems that comes with that level of success. But as Donnie, he also wants to protect his family and their future from the sins of his past. Donnie is not a lost boy anymore, as he was depicted in the first ‘Creed,’ he is now a man and a champion, and that comes shining through Jordan’s performance.
Jordan also has an extremely impressive directorial debut with ‘Creed III.’ Jordan balances the film’s tones of fighting for survival and redemption quite well, and even injects some humor into the film. Jordan clearly has learned a lot about filmmaking from his years on sets and from watching his mentor and collaborator director Ryan Coogler on ‘Fruitvale Station,’ ‘Creed’ and ‘Black Panther.’
While Jordan handles the emotions and drama of ‘Creed III’ very well, he also makes the fight scenes interesting, moving the camera around the ring with the fighters and using slow-motion sparingly but effectively. However, there is one choice Jordan made as a director that I completely disagree with and it actually took me out of the movie for a second. It’s a scene that comes towards the end of the film’s final fight sequence, so I will be careful not to give too much away. But Jordan makes a directorial choice to inject the fight with visual metaphors that hurt the reality of the fight scene itself, and for me, took the viewer completely out of the moment. I get what Jordan was going for, but I just don’t think it worked.
(L to R) Sylvester Stallone as Robert “Rocky” Balboa and Michael B. Jordan as Adonis “Donnie” Creed in director Ryan Coogler’s ‘Creed.’
‘Creed III’ marks the first film in the trilogy to not also feature Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character. The trilogy is clearly a spinoff of the ‘Rocky’ franchise, and while the character is mentioned once or twice in passing, Balboa’s whereabouts and why he is no longer in Donnie’s corner are never revealed.
Jordan and the other filmmakers do a good job of creating a ‘Rocky’ movie without Rocky, and while it is still in the vein of the previous films in the franchise, they go out of their way to make it different from the other movies in the series. The “Theme from Rocky” or “Gonna Fly Now,” as it is better known, is barely used, if at all, and has been modified so you can barely hear it in the background.
There is also a moment where you can tell the filmmakers wanted to step away from what you would expect from a ‘Rocky’ movie. In the inevitable training montage, Donnie runs to the top of a hill overlooking the Los Angeles skyline. This would seem to be the perfect moment to have the theme start playing and for Donnie to pump his fists in the air, recreating the iconic moment on the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs from the original ‘Rocky,’ which has been duplicated in almost every ‘Rocky’ movie since. But Jordan avoids that moment, like so many other typical ‘Rocky’ moments that the film ignores, which really places the movie into its own chapter of the ‘Rocky’ story.
But honestly, the real reason Rocky does not appear in ‘Creed III’ is more complicated. While Sylvester Stallone did create the characters in the ‘Rocky’ franchise and the original screenplay, he sold the rights to producer Irwin Winkler and MGM decades ago to get the first movie made, and thus has no real say in the future of the franchise. Apparently, Stallone did not agree with the direction Winkler, Jordan and ‘Creed’ director Ryan Coogler, who is given story credit on this movie, wanted to take the future of the franchise. Whether Stallone will ever play Balboa again on the big screen is yet to be known, but the actor does not appear in ‘Creed III’ and the character is barely mentioned.
I understand the circumstance, and think it was probably best to continue the Creed story without Rocky, however, I would have liked a little more explanation as to why the character doesn’t appear, and why he is no longer in Donnie’s corner. In fact, Rocky is only really mentioned in passing as “that guy your dad fought,” and the other ‘Creed’ movies certainly established a close if not father/son relationship between Rocky and Donnie. So, it is weird that there is no character update in ‘Creed III’ regarding Rocky or why he is no longer Donnie’s trainer, and it seems that a simple line of dialogue or two could have fixed that issue.
To be accurate, Adonis begins the film with a rematch against his opponent from ‘Creed II,’ Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). But it is his old friend Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors) that is Donnie’s main opponent in ‘Creed III,’ both in the ring and out. Anderson is Donnie’s oldest friend, who has just been released from prison, something Donnie blames himself for.
At first, Damian asks Donnie for help training, as he is determined to win the championship, despite his age and lack of experience as a professional boxer. Donnie agrees, but bumps heads with Damian, who clearly has a chip on his shoulder. Donnie eventually helps Damian become champ, but it’s not enough for Dame, and he goes after Donnie and his family personally and publicly in order to convince Donnie to get back into the ring so he can show the world he is the better fighter and have payback for what happened between them in the past.
After fantastic performances in last year’s ‘Devotion’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ which hit theaters last week, ‘Creed III’ is poised to cement Jonathan Majors reputation as one of the finest actors working today. Majors gives an absolutely stunning and menacing performance as Damian Anderson, and at times, even out shines Jordan himself. Majors plays Damian as a brooding and calculating character, one who knows just how to push his old friend’s buttons perfectly to get the desired reaction. Damian is a real threat to Donnie, in the ring and out, but their former friendship is what keeps the dynamic fresh and interesting.
Majors is also in top physical shape for this movie, lending to his threat to Donnie, making the idea of Creed winning their fight impossible, which adds to the film’s suspense. In the world of ‘Rocky’ movies, I would put Damian Anderson right up there with Mr. T’s Clubber Lang from ‘Rocky III,’ and of course Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) from ‘Rocky IV,’ as the strongest opponents in this franchise.
Besides Majors and Jordan, the strongest performance in the movie comes from Tessa Thompson as Donnie’s wife Bianca Taylor, and the actress has really made this character her own. Even from the first ‘Creed,’ Thompson has taken the role and elevated her from the “sideline support” that Adrian (Talia Shire) gave Rocky in the original. Bianca has always had her own storyline, whether it is concentrating on her music career, or dealing with her progressive degenerative hearing disorder.
In the new film, she is a mother of a deaf child, the wife of a boxing champ, and also a successful music producer. Thompson plays the role of supporting wife well, but is at her best in scenes dealing with her family, the secrets that Donnie has been keeping from her, or her reluctance to except Damian as a friend. Thompson elevates the role, and over three films, has created a fully formed character that you can really relate to.
Phylicia Rashad also returns as Donnie’s adopted mother Mary Anne Creed, the widow of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). The actress is given a little more to do this time around, as Donnie’s childhood plays into the main story with Damian. Wood Harris also reprises his role from the other ‘Creed’ movies as Tony “Little Duke” Evers Jr., who is Donnie’s trainer and the son of Apollo Creed’s trainer. Harris is fine in the role, but again, it is strange to look in Donnie’s corner and not see Rocky!
Final Thoughts
In the end, while ‘Creed III’ does exist in the ‘Rocky’ universe, it is completely its own film. This is Adonis “Donnie” Creed’s story, and a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Star Michael B. Jordan gives another strong performance as the character and also gives an impressive directorial debut, while Jonathan Majors continues to dazzle in another remarkable and transformative performance.
‘Creed III’ is produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Outlier Society Productions, Proximity Media, and Balboa Productions, and is scheduled for release on March 3rd.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Though we’re sure he’d prefer to keep everything under wraps until he’s fully ready to reveal them, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is sometimes called upon to sit down and discuss future plans for movies (and, increasingly, TV series) adapted from Marvel Comics into the sprawling, endlessly evolving chain of entertainment known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The release of a new movie, in this case ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, is one of the occasions where Feige meets the press. And he was typically enthusiastic about this latest outing and his team’s future ideas.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Big Bad: Why Jonathan Majors?
Asked about the reasons for casting Jonathan Majors in the latest ‘Ant-Man‘ adventure (which led to multiple roles across different projects, including last year’s ‘Loki’ Season 1), Feige was clear on the choice of the actor for the new main villain.
Feige says, “For years, we’ve always had the inkling that Kang would be an amazing follow-up to Thanos. He’s got that equal stature in the comics, but he’s a completely different villain. Mainly, that’s because he’s multiple villains. He/s so unique from Thanos, which we really liked. And in the early days of ‘Quantumania’ [test audiences], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He’s the highest-testing villain we’ve ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That’s really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start. It’s always one of the fun rolls of the dice that we do at Marvel, which is to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to make multiple movies around this character, and we’re going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.’ We really go all in on these ideas and this casting. It was a big relief when the season ender of ‘Loki’ season 1 happened.”
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What is Spider-Man’s future?
While ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ seemed to wrap up the Tom Holland story, Feige also confirmed that there are more Spider-plans bubbling away at Marvel HQ. It’s early days, but here’s what he admitted,
“All I will say is that we have the story. We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.”
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman discuss Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool 3.’ Photo courtesy of Ryan Reynolds YouTube channel.
Feige also talked up Hugh Jackman’s surprising return to the role of Wolverine for ‘Deadpool 3’, announced last year by the movie’s star, Ryan Reynolds.
The executive is clear on his joy at having Jackman back, especially given their connected history, since Feige worked on the ‘X-Men’ movies when 20th Century Fox had the rights.
Comments Feige, “It’s amazing. And we’ve got Hugh Jackman coming back for our first ‘Deadpool’ film within the MCU. That’s our first R-rated film. To have Hugh come back is incredible. For me, personally, that is where I started. I remember sitting behind the camera—well behind the camera—at his audition for the [first ‘X-Men’] film. It was his first on-set audition, and he flew up to Toronto to do a read with Anna Paquin. For him, and for me, and I think for all of the fans of Marvel, it’s unbelievable what has happened in those 23 years. It’s very full circle having him come back in this new ‘Deadpool’ film.”
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Marvel Studios’ ‘The Marvels’ opens in theaters on July 28, 2023.
What makes ‘The Marvels’ work?
One of Marvel’s exciting titles this year is ‘The Marvels’, the sequel to 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel’, which introduced Brie Larson’s powerful character Carol Danvers.
Directed by Nia DaCosta, the new film finds Carol interacting with Kamala Khan (AKA Ms. Marvel, introduced in her own eponymous Disney+ series last year) and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, the adult version of the character introduced as a child in ‘Captain Marvel’, but seen as an adult in ‘WandaVision’ when she also gained super powers.
Feige can’t wait for audiences to see the interactions between the three women.
He comments, “That’s what the entire movie is about. There are fun cosmic elements to it. Marvel comic fans will recognize elements of the Kree-Skrull war. And it’s picking up directly after the end of ‘Captain Marvel’, not in timeline but in story. We also do that in our upcoming Disney+ series ‘Secret Invasion’, and those are two very different follow-ups to that movie. Tonally, they couldn’t be more different. But there’s something immensely powerful about seeing Monica and Kamala and Carol together in a frame. To me, it’s only akin to the first ‘Avengers’ movie and seeing the six of them together in a frame. It’s chill-inducing. They’re so great together, and they all have different histories with one another.”
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Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: New World Order.’
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Where does Harrison Ford fit in to Captain America’s future?
Further down the production line is ‘Captain America: New World Order’, which will bring the new Captain America––AKA Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson––to theaters following his assuming the mantle properly in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Mackie’s character will be interacting with a new President of the United States, embodied by an established character with a different face. That would be Thaddeus Ross, formerly played by the late William Hurt and now to be brought to screens by Harrison Ford.
Feige was effusive about the new casting choice…
“We start filming relatively soon. I’m sure anyone you’ve ever talked with about Harrison Ford says this, but it’s unbelievable that we get to meet and talk with him and that he’s embracing this role. He’s tireless with the amount of work that he does. This is certainly a big part for Thaddeus Ross. He’s the president of the United States in the film. And with Harrison, you think about ‘Air Force One’ and you think about some of his confrontations with the president in ‘Clear and Present Danger’, There’s a dynamic between President Ross and Sam Wilson. They have a history together, but in this film, we’ll be seeing the dynamic between Captain America and the president of the United States in a way that is just incredible.”
Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’
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What has become of Blade?
There was also good news for fans of Daywalking half-vampire/half-human her ‘Blade’, whose own movie hit some creative road bumps last year when original director Bassam Tariq walked away due to creative differences and script issues.
From the sounds of it, ‘Blade’, starring Mahershala Ali as the main character, is back on track, with Feige offering that it’ll start shooting within the next 10 weeks.
And finally, Feige dropped a hint that we might finally learn more about his company’s plans for ‘Fantastic Four’, with the famous characters finally aiming to enter the MCU in 2025 via a movie directed by ‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman.
According to Feige, “’Fantastic Four’ is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There’s certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that’s something that is really exciting for us. People will start to hear more about that soon. We plan on that being a big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they’ve been in the comics for 50 or 60 years.”
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ the long-awaited third movie in the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise and the first film of Marvel’s Phase 5, opens in theaters everywhere on February 17th and was once again directed by Peyton Reed.
The movie features several actors reprising their MCU roles including Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, as well as Kathryn Newton joining the series as an older version of Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror – a variant of his ‘Loki’ character “He Who Remains,” and Bill Murray as new character, Krylar.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending the virtual press conference for ‘’Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ along with several other members of the press. In attendance were Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Michael Douglas, as well as director Peyton Reed, producer Stephen Broussard, and President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige.
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Here are the 10 things we learned from the ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ virtual press conference:
1. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is All About Family
Director Peyton Reed began the press conference by talking about the themes of the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise.
Peyton Reed: The ‘Ant-Man’ movies have really always been about family. It is a generational story about a family of heroes, and Scott Lang, who is not a billionaire or super scientist, getting sucked into this world, and Hope van Dyne who is the legacy daughter of two superheroes, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer. So it’s this generational thing, and now young Cassie Lang, who is probably Scott’s biggest motivating factor. He wants to be a hero, obviously. He’s an Avenger, but it’s really about work-life balance and also finding time with his daughter.
In this movie, Cassie Lang is 18, but we continue the story of this family, and I think in ‘Quantumania,’ one of the things we’ve done is really broaden that story and start talking about the secrets the family members keep from each other, the things they don’t tell each other. At the beginning of the movie, very quickly we find out that maybe Janet hasn’t told the family about her 30 years in the Quantum Realm, and maybe Hope and Hank have not told Scott about what they’re working on with Cassie down in the basement, and maybe Cassie hasn’t told her dad about time she might’ve spent in jail.
So everyone’s keeping secrets from Scott at the beginning of the movie, and suddenly, they’re thrust into the Quantum Realm, and they have to kind of work out these family dynamics while being in this bizarro, wacked-out world. But it really is the theme of family that I think is the constant in the movies.
2. How Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne have changed since ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Paul Rudd discussed how his character has changed since the last time we on screen.
Paul Rudd: I think that he really does want to be a dad, and this is, I think, his main focus. So he always had kind of a love-hate relationship with it, I think, but now I feel as if he’s accepted it. He is happy that all of that, it seems to be in the rearview mirror, and now we get to have kind of a normal life, have some time together. It doesn’t last, obviously, as long as maybe he thought it would.
But I think that he’s kind of grown a lot over the course of nine years or so that we’ve been doing these movies. I mean, this is a guy who, when started off, he had a regular job. He was brought into this group and has no innate super abilities, but then he went up and fought Thanos. So he’s experienced a thing or two, and he’s accepted who he is. When you see this movie, it’s present day. The events of ‘Endgame,’ everything has already transpired. I wouldn’t say he’s taking a victory lap, but others might say that.
He’s written a book, a memoir, “Look Out For the Little Guy,” and he’s explained everything that’s been going on in his life and his experiences with the Avengers, but now he is ready to have some time to be a normal dad. You know, there are some issues there, because we missed out on a lot, and I kind of want to recapture some of those years. Cassie’s older now and she has ideas of her own, so we’re trying to kind of grapple with all of that.
Actress Evangeline Lilly also talked about how her character has changed since ‘Endgame.’
Evangeline Lilly: Hope started the first ‘Ant-Man’ film a very cold, detached, and very isolated woman. She didn’t have a lot of relationships in her life. She had a lot of broken relationships in her life, and over the course of these three films, I’ve had this incredible arc to be able to play where she has, in that time, repaired her relationship with her father. She’s reunited with her long-lost mother. She’s fallen madly in love with Scott, and she’s become a stepmom to Cassie.
So her life is just full of relationships and it’s full of love, and she is really like a blossomed version of the woman that we met, and you see that in the work that she’s doing in the world. She’s thriving and taking that love and spreading it around by trying to do right in the world and fix issues that are massive like global warming and housing crises, and she’s doing it with success.
But there’s this little hiccup. There’s this little missing piece, which is that she had always fantasized about her mom coming home one day. I think because that fantasy started when she was 8 years old, it was like, we’re going be best friends, and she’s going to tell me everything, and we’re just going to be so close. Then she really keeps Hope on the outside, and that’s a wound that is festering at the beginning of the film.
President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, explained the film’s setting and just what the Quantum Realm is.
Kevin Feige: We first saw it in the first ‘Ant-Man’ film, and I was sort of reminded recently that this was an idea that Paul had early on, before we started filming the first ‘Ant-Man’ film. What if we explore this quantum mechanics? Things act very differently at the quantum level, and Paul was talking about the amount of storytelling, imagination and fun that you could have there. The first ‘Ant-Man’ movie was mainly about meeting the characters and the origin story, of course, but at the very end of that, we got a taste of it, and that is what led to where we took it in ‘Endgame.’
It’s a place that is on the subatomic level where space and time act differently, and that allowed us to time travel at Scott Lang’s suggestion in ‘Endgame,’ and it allowed us to have this entire manic quantumness in this film, where we go to a point where only Janet had ever seen before. As Evangeline said, she didn’t talk about it too much, where there is an entire universe below the surface where we meet all sorts of fun and crazy characters.
At one point during the press conference, Michael Douglas paused and turned to Kevin Feige and asked, “What is Phase 5?” Feige explained to Douglass and the audience Marvel’s plans for the future.
Kevin Feige: Well, to go through Phase 5, we’ll start at phase one. We are making a lot of movies, and I always dreamed of making even more movies. We sort of break it up into these phases. So, from ‘Iron Man’ to the first ‘Avengers’ was one phase. Then we would do Phase 2, which was ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ through to ‘Endgame.’
‘Endgame’ ended what we called Phase 3, and then we started a new saga. We’ve made a lot of films in Phase 4, the last of which was ‘Wakanda Forever.’ We introduced a lot of characters in that. Now, this film kicks off what we call Phase 5 which begins a more specific storyline heading towards some ‘Avengers’ films down the line. We work in about three phases at a time, which three phases together, as we all know, make a saga.
Actor Jonathan Majors first played a different version of Kang the Conqueror called “He Who Remains,” in season one of Disney+’s ‘Loki,’ but plays the real version of the character in ‘Quantumania.’ Majors talked about the character and his approach to playing this version of him.
Jonathan Majors: Who is Kang? I think that is a question that we will all be answering for a very long time. I think the quick answer to that is Kang is a time traveling super villain. Who is also a nexus being, which leads to this idea of variants. There’s multiple versions of Kang. Versions being variants.
They occupy different universes, multi-verses, and they have different intentions. They are all different beings, and yet something that I’m still working on and continue to refine to something as a throughline between them. That, to me, is the Kang gene. Kang the Conqueror, who is in ‘Quantumania,’ is stuck in the Quantum Realm. He has some issues with some variants and he’s not happy about it.
Marvel comic book fans will be delighted to learn that the popular villain M.O.D.O.K. makes his live-action debut in ‘Quantumania.’ However, the character that appears in the movie is much different than his comic book counterpart and director Peyton Reed explained why.
Peyton Reed: For me, it was a personal thrill. I was a kid who spent a lot of my childhood alone in a room reading Marvel comics. M.O.D.O.K. was always this insane character. He’s grotesque. He’s a giant head that has been turned into a mechanized organism designed only for killing. That was intriguing. So, we started talking about, is there a place in the MCU and in the ‘Ant-Man’ movies for a live action version of M.O.D.O.K.? And what would that look like and how would we go about it?
Producer Stephen Broussard also discussed introducing M.O.D.O.K.
Stephen Broussard: It’s a very odd character, to say the least. It’s kind of loomed large in our imagination of how and if we could pull that off. It always felt like a challenge, going back years, here at Marvel. Then we hit on an idea, and we think we had an idea that we were excited about. I don’t want to say too much here in this forum, but I think the time was right to bring M.O.D.O.K. to the big screen, finally.
Much of ‘Quantumania’ revolves around the secrets Janet Van Dyne has been keeping about her time in the Quantum Realm, and actress Michelle Pfeiffer talked about how it affects her relationship with her family.
Michelle Pfeiffer: I will say that after finally being rescued from the Quantum Realm after 30 years and reunited with her lovely husband Hank and daughter Hope, she is just savoring this time together and quite, decidedly so, secretive about her time down there. And not really wanting to get into that until, of course, we all find ourselves down in the parallel universe and parallel world.
She is forced to come forth with the truth and in a place where she had hoped she would never see again. You know, 30 years is a long time. So, I think there are a lot of surprises for the family. For some more than others. Maybe some of her choices were questionable. But they’re a very forgiving family. But, her story is very much a part of the whole family secrets theme that runs through the film.
8. Kathryn Newton Has Always Dreamed of Being a Superhero
Because of the five-year time jump between ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ young actress Abby Ryder Fortson, who played Cassie Lang in ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ was replaced with the age appropriate Newton. The actress, best known for her work in ‘Freaky,’ revealed that being cast in ‘Quantumania’ really was a dream come true.
Kathryn Newton: At the premiere, someone asked me, “What Marvel movie was the first movie I saw?” I said ‘Iron Man.’ That was the first one I saw. I was probably like eight. So since then, since the first time I saw a Marvel movie, I always wanted to be a Marvel superhero, and anyone who knows me from high school, it was probably like my superlative in the yearbook.
So, I really wanted to be part of this, because it made me dream. I went with my dad to the theaters, and I just wanted to be a superhero. It’s funny, because I told myself that I always wanted to be the biggest Marvel superhero of all time. I think it’s ironic that Cassie Lang grows 40 feet. So I’m proof that your dreams come true, because mine did.
Oscar-winning actor and producer Michael Douglas talked about why he thinks the ‘Ant-Man’ movies are the Marvel movies in general are so popular with audiences?
Michael Douglas: I think with the ‘Ant-Man’ pictures we refer to family a lot, and it brings a vulnerability to these super-power characters that we see in a lot of Marvel films. There’s a certain vulnerability, and a sense of humor that exists that I think is really a pleasure.
This is very joyful for me as I’m learning more today about the whole experience than I’ve known, but I think it’s that sort of fun element about it. Certainly there’s the danger but it seems to relate to all different ages. Someone like myself who’s mostly referenced to R-Rated movies, this has really been a pleasure to have younger kids coming up, enjoying it and seeing what’s going on. So, kudos to everybody.
10. If there will be a ‘Wasp’ solo movie or a ‘Women of Marvel’ film in the Future
Finally, both Kevin Feige and Evangeline Lilly discussed the possibility of a solo ‘Wasp’ movie in the future or even a ‘Woman of Marvel’ film featuring all the MCU’s female superheroes teaming up together.
Kevin Feige: Well, the opportunities within the MCU are endless, as they are in the multiverse. So, we will have to see what happens in the future.
Evangeline Lilly: Well, just for the record, if that opportunity did present itself, I’m fully suited up and ready to go.
Witten by Jeff Loveness and directed by Peyton Reed, the sci-fi, action, adventure, comedy, mystery, thriller ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is scheduled for release from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures on February 17th 2023.
