While Marvel’s Ant-Man didn’t make huge waves at the box office last year, it did well enough to merit a sequel down the road. Director Adam McKay, who is currently nominated for both directing and writing for his Wall Street film The Big Short, was one of the seven hands that brought the Ant-Man script to the big screen, and now he’s in talks for possibly having some more involvement in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. The sequel already has writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari working on the script, along with Paul Rudd who shares a story credit. But neither Barrer nor Ferrari worked on the first film so it may be a good thing for someone like McKay to come aboard the project.
According to a recent interview, he seems to have some excitement about working on it even if he may not be a major player. Here’s what McKay said about the sequel:
We’ve been talking to Marvel actually. We just talked to them the other day, and it looks like I will be involved. I don’t know if it’s gonna be right from page one. But it looks like I will definitely be involved. There you go. There’s a little headline for the fanboys!
Peyton Reed will return again for the sequel so there will be a familiar feel to the film, but it’s unclear how much of a say McKay will have after he gets involved. Luckily he’s planning a film with frequent collaborators Will Ferrell and John C. Reily that would be released sometime before the Marvel sequel so it shouldn’t be too long before fans have to wait to get more of McKay’s work. Here’s what he had to say:
I’m talking with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly about maybe doing an immigration comedy. I’m trying to crack climate change very, very hard. I have an interesting idea, I think. But it’s got to be a movie that plays. It can’t be didactic or pedantic. It’s got to be… I want to keep an audience on the edge of their seats. So I’m trying to figure that out. But I don’t know. After this, we’ll see where we end up.
Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Douglas are all set to reprise their roles as well, but no other supporting cast members have been revealed. As teased by the first film’s post-credit sequence, Lilly will become the Wasp, so hopefully she will play a bigger role in the sequel.
Ant-Man and the Wasp will be released in theaters on July 6, 2018, and The Big Short is currently playing in theaters.