Originally conceived and scripted by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck (with Krasinski working on the script when he agreed to direct and star), the first ‘A Quiet Place’ follows a family (Krasinski, real-life wife Emily Blunt and two kids) surviving in the aftermath of an alien invasion by blind aliens with incredibly powerful hearing who hunt and kill humans.
That movie enjoyed $50.2 million opening weekend, and a near $153M domestic and $341M global take, and received an Oscar nomination for Sound Editing.
It saw its release pushed due to Covid, but brought the box office back alive during Memorial Day weekend 2021 with a $57M four-day start, ending with a $160M domestic and $297.3M global haul. A prequel, ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’, arrived in 2024, directed by Michael Sarnoski.
When will ‘A Quiet Place: Part III’ be on screens?
The movie is set for a July 30, 2027 release date.
(L to R) John Krasinski as Lee Abbott, and Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott in ‘A Quiet Place.’
(L to R) Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man.’
‘The Running Man’ is not necessarily the movie you might expect director Edgar Wright to make; he’s brought his own zippy visual style to genre comedies set in the horror, cop and alien invasion world, but has also plowed his own lane with the likes of ‘Last Night in Soho.’
Still, he does everything he can to liven up a fairly –– yet not completely straightforward studio wannabe blockbuster.
Script and Direction
Director Edgar Wright on the set of Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man,’ starring Glen Powell.
Wright, working alongside Michael Bacall (with whom he adapted the box office flop-turned-cult favorite ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’) here sets his sights on Stephen King’s darkly dystopian tale of a working man trying to help his family by entering America’s most dangerous game show.
In places, it’s almost surprising that Paramount, with its recent, shall we say, political moves, is still putting this one out, since it takes the prescient King book as its basis and mostly smartly updates it for our trying times.
There is a problem inherent in movies such as this which the new ‘Running Man’ (let’s not forget there was a much looser adaptation in the 1980s starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) in that it is tempted to batter you over the head with its message as much as possible. Wright and Bacall don’t entirely escape that particular sinkhole, but they do at least inject plenty of dark humor in to the screenplay.
And as a director, Wright has always been a dynamic craftsman –– while he tones things down here from the days of ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ there is plenty of his flare on display.
Cast and Performances
Glen Powell stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man’.
Glen Powell is really the only person who gets much screentime, and he’s a charismatic central figure who can get across the burning anger of his character.
But on the supporting front, the likes of William H. Macy, Colman Domingo and particularly the director’s ‘Scott Pilgrim’ star Michael Cera have fun in different types of roles.
Final Thoughts
Colman Domingo stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man’.
‘The Running Man’ certainly delivers on the action side of things, and some of its satirical message really hits home. It’s just a problem that it goes on too long with diminishing returns and ultimately wimps out (no spoilers) on King’s big finish.
‘The Running Man’ receives 70 out of 100.
Josh Brolin stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man’.
What’s the story of ‘The Running Man’?
Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by The Running Man’s charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort.
But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite – and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Running Man’?
Glen Powell as Ben Richards
Josh Brolin as Dan Killian
Colman Domingo as Bobby “Bobby T” Thompson
William H. Macy as Molie Jernigan
Lee Pace as Evan McCone
Michael Cera as Elton Parrakis
Emilia Jones as Amelia Williams
Katy O’Brian as Laughlin
(L to R) Josh Brolin and Director Edgar Wright on the set of Paramount Pictures’ ‘The Running Man’.
(Left) William H. Macy in ‘Fargo’. Photo: Gramercy Pictures. (Center) Michael Cera in ‘Superbad’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing. (Right) Emilia Jones in ‘CODA’. Photo: Apple Original Films.
Preview:
William H. Macy, Michael Cera and Emilia Jones are joining ‘The Running Man’
Glen Powell is starring alongside Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O’Brian and Daniel Ezra.
Edgar Wright co-wrote and will direct the Stephen King adaptation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’
‘The Running Man,’ which King published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, was set in 2025 in an America under a totalitarian regime that uses violent game shows to placate the disenfranchised masses.
The story centered on one desperate man, needing money for his gravely sick daughter, who joins the most popular show, ‘The Running Man,’ in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer that a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, our conflicted hero will break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.
Powell is playing the main character, while O’Brian would be one of the other contestants.
What do we know about the new recruits for the movie?
Brolin, meanwhile, stars as the ruthless producer of the game show, and Pace is the brutal chief hunter tracking down Powell.
Cera (who starred in ‘Scott Pilgrim’ for the director) will be a naïve rebel who tries to help the desperate man, while Jones is playing a privileged woman blind to the oppression of the government.
The dystopian tale has already seen screens before –– it was adapted into a 1987 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (then at the height of his movie stardom), which, while it’s far from excellent, has long developed a cult following.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’
‘Running Man,’ which King published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, was set in 2025 in an America under a totalitarian regime that uses violent game shows to placate the disenfranchised masses.
The story centered on one desperate man, needing money for his gravely sick daughter, who joins the most popular show, ‘The Running Man,’ in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer that a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, our conflicted hero will break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.
Powell is playing the main character, while O’Brian would be one of the other contestants.
Ezra and Glusman’s roles have yet to be revealed, but Brolin, making an appearance at the New York Comic-Con, announced he’ll be playing the villain in the movie, and Deadline has heard that means the antagonist behind the whole show.
The dystopian tale has already seen screens before –– it was adapted into a 1987 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (then at the height of his movie stardom), which, while it’s far from excellent, has a cult following.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’
‘Running Man,’ which King published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, was set in 2025 in an America under a totalitarian regime that uses violent game shows to placate the disenfranchised masses.
The story centered on one desperate man, needing money for his sick daughter, who joins the most popular show, ‘The Running Man,’ in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer that a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, our conflicted hero will break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.
Powell is playing the main character, while O’Brian would be one of the other contestants –– though given her background in bodybuilding, we could also see her as one of the show’s stars whom Powell has to defeat.
While ‘Love Lives Bleeding,’ (in which she co-starred opposite Kristen Stewart) brought her a lot of attention, Katy O’Brian has been working steadily for years.
Next up for her in release date terms is an unknown role in the next ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie, which lands in theaters on May 23rd next year.
And ‘The Running Man’ won’t even represent her first collaboration with Powell, as she was also seen as part of his crew in this summer’s disaster movie hit ‘Twisters.’
(from left) Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Opening in theaters on July 19th, ‘Twisters’ is real throwback movie making –– which makes sense, since it effectively follows (though rarely directly references) the 1996Jan de Bont-directed original.
Which means you don’t have to have seen the 1990s movie to enjoy the new one, which serves as a callback to that era of filmmaking. It’s sitting firmly in big-scale event-movie territory, and the hand of executive producer Steven Spielberg can be felt, if lightly.
(from left) Lily (Sasha Lane) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
At one point, it looked as though ‘Twisters’ might be headed down the road of a sequel to the original that would feature the daughter of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton’s characters. But the path has instead led it to a much more standalone place, drawing only on the concept of storm chasers (and, early on, including a nod to the storm-monitoring device known as “Dorothy” from the 1996 movie).
It’s a smart move, as ‘Twisters’ is allowed to mostly stand on its own, and it provides enough entertainment value to blow past any problems.
‘Twisters’: Script and Direction
(from left) Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and director Lee Isaac Chung on the set of ‘Twisters’.
With a script that nods back to ‘Twister’ in credits form (the original movie’s writers Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin score a “based on characters created by” mention, the new film is written by Joseph Kosinski (the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ director flirted with making this a few years back in its development stage) and Mark L. Smith (yes, the man behind ‘The Revenant’).
In many ways, it leans more towards Kosinski’s blockbuster sensibility, in both the positive and negative senses. The screenplay is a slick machine, running you from windy set-piece to spinning scenes of destruction, but taking its foot off the pedal enough to fill in some decent character detail for at least Edgar-Jones’ Kate and Powell’s Tyler.
Yet with that shape come the predictable cliches that always seem to be swept up too. There are shortcuts to emotional drama and some of the supporting characters might as well carry signs reading “uptight martinet” or “nervy reporter” instead of seeming like real people. Still, the movie around them is fun enough to handwave that away.
‘Minari’ director Lee Isaac Chung is probably tired of people being surprised that he went from directing an intimate, personal drama of family struggles to a huge-scale thriller where cars and people go flying. But he brings some echo of his past work to this latest effort, dialing down on what makes the lead characters tick, while, along with cinematographer Dan Mindel and the talented effects team, make the tornado scenes work. And the personal stakes don’t end with our heroes –– there are scenes of locals impacted by the terrifying twisters and even some sneaky chat about climate change.
‘Twisters’: Performances
(from left) Dexter (Tunde Adebimpe), Lily (Sasha Lane), Ben (Harry Hadden-Paton), Boone (Brandon Perea), Dani (Katy O’Brian), Javi (Anthony Ramos), Tyler (Glen Powell) and Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
From the marketing, this could well have been re-titled “the Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell Show”, with a subtitle of “also featuring Anthony Ramos and some other people”. While the focus is mostly certainly on the lead duo, Ramos and one or two others do get moments to shine.
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Cooper
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Daisy Edgar-Jones is our focus here, her storm expert Kate enjoys the lion’s share of the characterization, including a dramatic, tragic introduction and a full arc that finds her re-discovering her passion for tackling tornadoes (she’s less looking to chase them, more find a way to shut them down).
And in the actress, Chung could not have picked a more luminous lead –– several moments work because Edgar-Jones’ expressive face make that happen, and she’s certainly got the dramatic chops to carry the storyline. Plus, her chemistry with Powell is palpable, even if the romantic side is more bubbling under than raging storm.
Glen Powell as Tyler Owens
Glen Powell as Tyler in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Between ‘Hit Man’ and now this, Glen Powell is spending 2024 proving that he has full-on star power. His introduction ladles on the smug-but-likeable charm and partly thanks to the actor, Owens has more depths that you might suspect from first glance. Sure, he’s cocky and arrogant, but Powell infuses him with those extra layers.
Anthony Ramos as Javi
Javi (Anthony Ramos) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Anthony Ramos is probably regretting signing on to this latest big-scale film –– after being overshadowed by Optimus Prime in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, he’s now playing third fiddle to his co-stars. Still, Javi is enough of a solid character to prove worthy of the actor.
Maura Tierney as Cathy Cooper
Maura Tierney as Cathy in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Appearing as Kate’s mother, Maura Tierney makes the most of her couple of scenes, playing well against Edgar-Jones and Powell.
Supporting Cast
(from left) Mike (Stephen Oyoung), Peter (Alex Kingi), Scott (David Corenswet), Javi (Anthony Ramos) and Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
As we mentioned in the scripting section, the rest of the characters are largely archetypes, with future ‘Superman‘ David Corenswet essentially a reboot of the snooty, profit-chasing character Cary Elwes played in the original. The rest of Tyler’s storm-chasing team are a fun bunch, but only get the occasional moment to impact the story.
‘Twisters’: Final Thoughts
(from left) Tyler (Glen Powell) and Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in ‘Twisters’, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
With a film such as ‘Twisters’, there’s always a debate to have whether it justifies its existence. But by not (mostly) looking to reboot the 1996 movie or go the legacy route, it proves to offer enough fun, its nostalgic nature not tied directly to ‘Twister’ but instead the sort of movie that one typified.
It’s driven by two great leads and certainly throws enough at the screen (literally in certain scenes) to make its basic concept work.
‘Twisters’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Twisters’?
‘Twisters’ stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as equal forces, with opposing motivations, who come together to try to predict, and possibly tame, the immense power of tornadoes.
Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Carter, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Ramos) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system.
There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better.
As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler, Javi and their crews find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.
After watching one deeply flawed comedy about lesbian lovers mixed up in two-bit crime (‘Drive Away Dolls’) and another decent but workmanlike thriller about corruption blanketing a small town (‘Red Right Hand’), it’s nice to see a movie that brings both of those together and gets them dead right. ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ is a grimy romance about two star-crossed, desperate lovers mixed up in crime, murder, family dysfunction, and, uh, bodybuilding that works on nearly every level.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
Directed with style by Rose Glass (who also co-wrote the script) and featuring an outstanding cast led by an excellent Kristen Stewart, ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ focuses on Stewart’s Lou, a lonely, seemingly standoffish gym manager in a small New Mexico town who’s trying to keep her distance from the druggie, needy Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) and generally keep her head down. But things change when would-be professional bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) walks into the gym, stopping in town on her way to a national bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas.
Lou and Jackie fall madly and hotly for each other, with Lou providing Jackie with steroids and agreeing to travel with her to Vegas. But those plans are soon called into doubt by events concerning Lou’s sister Beth (Jena Malone), her brutal brother-in-law JJ (Dave Franco), and Lou’s estranged father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), who not only owns the gym and a local shooting range, but is also a gun-runner with an iron grip on much of the town – including his family, whom he treats with an unsettling mix of menace and tenderness.
Most of the plot details of ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ should remain unspoiled, since its twisting, suspenseful blend of unapologetic queer romance, sex, crime, ‘roid rage, and grisly violence are best left to discover as one watches the film. While there is a certain predictability to the overall narrative – this is, in the end, a neo-noir that adheres to many of the genre’s tropes – Glass and co-writer Weronika Tofilska create truly memorable characters and throw in enough curveballs and details to keep one hooked, capably backed by Ben Fordesman’s stunning cinematography and Clint Mansell’s pulsating score.
Katy O’Brian in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
In addition to the erotic tension between Lou and Jackie, as well as the much more sinister dynamic between Lou, Lou Sr., and their family, Glass also navigates a successful balance between the film’s gritty, late ‘80s setting (we first meet Lou cleaning out a clogged toilet in the gym, which shares the same unwashed, peeling, faded aesthetic as almost everything else in the film), its stylized cinematography that utilizes glowing neon like paint, and the fantasy sequences that reflect the characters’ obsessive, frenetic mindsets and the film’s fever dream quality.
In one late scene, Lou envisions Jackie in, shall we say, enhanced form, while Jackie, whose ambitions trip easily into unhealthy fixation, imagines her muscles cracking through her skin in Hulk-like fashion. All this turns ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ into a dizzying kaleidoscope of images that is equal parts sexy, sweaty, surreal, and stomach-churning, but which keeps the focus on its small yet effective cast – particularly the two leads, whose desire for each other and something better in their lives provide the fuse that lights this entertaining thriller up.
Complex Characters
Kristen Stewart in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
Kristen Stewart gives one of her most raw, passionate performances as Lou. Initially appearing as bored and aloof, resigned her to her life of cleaning vomit out of toilets and presiding over grunting, perspiring men in her dad’s gym, she comes to life when she first spies Jackie. From there, her desire for the bodybuilder – or perhaps her yearning to escape from her dead-end town and the oppressive thumb of her father – drives her to extremes both psychologically and physically.
It’s terrific work from start to finish, and Katy O’Brian nearly matches her in her first major lead role, for which the actor – already experienced in martial arts and bodybuilding – trained extensively to get Jackie into the physically imposing shape she needs for her ambitions. But Jackie is also capable of pushing herself too far, and the combination of that and steroids push her into a state of rage that has devastating consequences. It’s a tour de force from O’Brian, who balances her formidable power with tenderness and vulnerability.
Ed Harris in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
The other major characters are also deftly handled. Although Ed Harris has spent the last few years on ‘Westworld,’ this is the meatiest big-screen role we’ve seen him in for a while, and he delivers brilliantly. Lou Sr. is both a seemingly loving father and a ruthless crime king, capable of being protective and caring yet also unrelenting and frightening. Jena Malone is heartbreaking as his other daughter, Beth, the acquiescent victim of domestic abuse, while Dave Franco parlays his normal charm into something insidiously toxic as her sleazy, vicious husband JJ.
(L to R) Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
Rose Glass arrived on the scene in 2019 with ‘Saint Maud,’ a hallucinatory psychological horror film about a caregiver whose religious fervor carves out a horrific path for both herself and her patient. Glass switches genres effortlessly with ‘Love Lies Bleeding,’ employing some of the same surrealistic imagery and visual palette to tell a more complex story. Some of that imagery and some of the humor is a bit jarring within the overall tone of the movie, and there’s a certain inevitability that comes with the genre territory, but ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ is still an outstanding second feature from this British filmmaker.
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Love Lies Bleeding’?
Reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls unexpectedly in love with a body builder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian) who stops in her New Mexico town. But Lou’s unsavory family history and Jackie’s rage issues pull them into an unexpected web of violence that neither one of them may escape.
(L to R) Katy O’Brian, Rose Glass and Kristen Stewart Talk ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian and director Rose Glass to discuss their new movie, Stewart’s first reaction to the screenplay, O’Brian’s approach to playing her character, Glass’ process as a filmmaker, and striking the right tone for the film.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Kristen Stewart in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
Moviefone: To begin with, Kristen, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the aspects of your character that you were excited to explore on screen?
Kristen Stewart: The movie’s like a mix between a fantasy and a nightmare. It’s a real fever dream. It starts in this kind of isolated insular space, someone paralyzed by whatever kind of baggage she may be carrying around. Very addicted to the baggage, addicted to smoking, addicted to isolation, and just sort of stuck. She’s like this immovable object, and then she sees the epitome of what the breadth of life could offer you, which is this vivacious, incredible, strong woman who takes up an unbelievable amount of space. Then she figures, “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t delete myself.” But then what happens is all her baggage starts spewing out into the world and ruining her relationship. I just thought that it was a good script. It was funny, it was scary and sad, and I wasn’t sure if I loved or hated Lou, but ultimately, she’s a nice guy and I think she’s trying hard and so I do like her. I just thought Rose’s first movie was great. So, if I could be in her second one, that would be cool.
MF: Katy, can you talk about your approach to playing Jackie, both emotionally and physically, and her relationship with Lou?
Katy O’Brian: So, the prep was standard to an actual bodybuilding competition, which I thought was really fun because I’d done that before. I was like, “Yeah, let’s do this.” But I practiced my posing more for this than I did for an actual competition. Because I think when I do figure it’s like four poses and this, we were doing kind of more in line with the ’80s, which was the time for bodybuilding. Rose helped so much with that too, because I’m a tense person usually, and Rose is like, “I want it to be like this. I have pictures.” I loved it. I’m obsessed. Then, the character, it’s one of the things that I love about acting is that you get to build off everyone else too. So, I had what I pictured for Jackie, and then it’s like someone might feed you a response and you’re like, “Oh wow.” It just changes even your mindset, the character’s mindset, everything. You just get to kind of play with each other and build this cool crazy thing. Then Rose adds, “Make it bigger, make it stronger.” We were talking, but it’s really an intuitive process. We sometimes had the luxury to find the moment and it was just cool and you just get chills.
Katy O’Brian in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
MF: Rose, is that typically the way you like to direct?
Rose Glass: I think you must. On the one hand, every moment of time is precious, so you plan things with a lot of precision. But then, it’s like with these guys finding exactly what the version of that thing is that’s going to feel real. So, I don’t know, the whole thing’s a weird sort of moving sculpture.
MF: Rose, can you talk about the challenges of finding the right tone for this movie?
Rose Glass: I guess that’s something you’re doing constantly at every stage, as you’re writing it, as you’re shooting it, you do different takes of like, “Now we’ll do the big ridiculous one, and now we’ll try the small one.” Then you continue doing it in the editing, the sound, and everything. There’s just a lot of stuff that goes into it and a lot of people doing different things, and it’s just trying to figure out how to smush them all together satisfyingly.
(L to R) Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
MF: Finally, Kristen, what was your experience like working with Rose on set?
KS: She’s a good director, somebody who has vision, and knows how to make sure it doesn’t fall off the ledge.
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What is the plot of ‘Love Lies Bleeding’?
Reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls unexpectedly in love with a body builder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian) who stops in her New Mexico town. But Lou’s unsavory family history and Jackie’s rage issues pull them into an unexpected web of violence that neither one of them may escape.
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.
