Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man and the Wasp, has revealed why the film cut several flashback scenes from the finished product.
Hank Pym is a hugely important character to the world of Ant-Man and seeing him in action during his prime is something that fans would love to see on the big screen. Reed and co thought about this and actually shot a few scenes of this nature but, in the end, decided against it in order to focus on the story’s central themes.
Reed explained exactly what went into the decision to CinemaBlend: “It’s tricky, because we talked a lot about how to introduce [Hank and Janet], and I always wanted to see some glimpse of them in the ’80s. We talked about doing action sequences, we shot some stuff, and it just felt like… I think I’ve learned this along the way – as much as, as a fan, I want to see flashbacks, the present tense story is the thing. That’s the thing that really matters to me – and also that I felt like it didn’t want to be action. It really wanted to be emotional grounding, because after all, this is a movie called Ant-Man And The Wasp. It really has to be about the emotion of a daughter finding her mother after all this time.”
Are you disappointed that the scenes got cut from the final film? A de-aged Michael Douglas would have been interesting to see but perhaps Reed is correct in thinking it wouldn’t serve the story to the fullest extent.
SEE ALSO: Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Laurence Fishburne would like to “suit up” as Goliath
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Ant-Man and the Wasp sees Peyton Reed returning to the director’s chair and stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michael Pena (Luis), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie Lang), Judy Greer (Maggie), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton) and T.I. (Dave), while new additions to the cast include Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne, Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster/Goliath, Hannah John-Kamen as The Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo.