Despite the delay in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Ant-Man 3’ is still alive and kicking. Marvel Studios has tapped Jeff Loveness to pen the screenplay, with writing already underway.
Loveness recently wrote three episode of ‘Rick and Morty’ season 4, returning May 3rd on Adult Swim. He also wrote an episode of the TBS anthology series ‘Miracle Workers.’ Outside of television, he’s written several different Marvel comics.
Meanwhile, director Peyton Reed is returning to helm the film. It was a foregone conclusion he would come back, after he took over for Edgar Wright on 2015’s ‘Ant-Man’ and directed last year’s ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp.’
Reed will join ‘Spider-Man’s Jon Watts and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’s ‘James Gunn in the group of directors who get to close out a MCU trilogy.
Moreover, Paul Rudd will also reprise his role as the titular character, while Michael Douglas will return as Hank Pym. No word yet on if cast members Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Peña, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, or Emma Fuhrmann will return. However, it is very likely they all come back.
While there are no plot details, it is likely that ‘Ant-Man 3’ will introduce the Fantastic Four into the MCU. Not only has this been the goal of director Peyton Reed for years, it would match up with our report from June. Reed getting the opportunity to usher in the next iteration of the first Marvel family, while also providing closure to the Ant-Man family, would be absolutely perfect. This idea is also reminiscent of how Spider-Man got his MCU debut through 2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War.’
However, while the sequel was looking to release on February 18, 2022, the whole MCU slate has shifted due to the Coronavirus, and ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is now on that date. This means filming for ‘Ant-Man 3’ is likely not starting January 2021, and it may not release until 2023. A good prediction would be February 17, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter