'Ant-Man' Trailer: 4 Lingering Questions
Now that Disney and Marvel have unveiled the first full, human-sized trailer for Ant-Man, it’s time to get scientific and break down what it all means. Like all good trailers, this one gives us plenty to get excited while saving some of the key reveals for subsequent clips. Here are four questions we’re left wondering:
Is Michael Douglas that much of a player?
Not only does Douglas narrate the trailer, he nearly gets as much screen time as Paul Rudd. Douglas plays Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man and mastermind behind the “Pym particle” size-shifting technology, who recruits ex-con Scott Lang to take over the gig as the world’s tiniest superhero. (Pym has an erratic history in the comics but seems to serve solely as the noble mentor in this film). Pym is the perfect candidate to introduce the look and the notion of our hero to audiences in the trailer form. But while he’s sure to have a larger role than, say, Alfred in The Dark Knight trilogy, it doesn’t necessarily mean Douglas will be chewing the scenery throughout the full movie.
Will Hope van Dyne become Wasp?
Evangeline Lilly, who plays Pym’s daughter, Hope, made waves when she shared her ‘do with fans — mostly because the shoulder-length cut bore an uncanny resemblance to Marvel’s diminutive heroine Wasp (originally Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, Janet van Dyne). We do see Hope briefly brandishing a gun and engaging in some martial arts, but there’s no sign of that famous black-and-yellow suit.
Who is Yellowjacket working with?
While the filmmakers are playing coy about whether Hope van Dyne becomes Wasp, they have confirmed that Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross will be the villain Yellowjacket. We don’t get a look at him in his get-up, but we know it’s coming. The question remains, though, who else is he working with? Most Marvel movies have more than one rogue. Is Michael Peña, spotted looking governmental, among the Ant adversaries (he’s listed in the official plot synopsis only as “Luis”)? How do the other top-billed cast members — rapper T.I., Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, and John Slattery (who was Howard “Father of Tony” Stark in Iron Man 2) — fit in? Will there be any surprises not hinted at here? We’ll see.
Why so serious?
The weighty vibe of the Ant-Man trailer feels an awful lot like the last big Marvel preview to play out, the somber first look at Avengers: Age of Ultron. We’re not looking for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids here, but given the film stars the hilarious Paul Rudd, is directed by Peyton Reed, a filmmaker known primarily for comedy, and, most of all, got serviced by rewrites from Rudd and Will Ferrell’s longtime partner-in-crime Adam McKay, you would’ve thunk this one might deliver a few more laughs. Right now we just have to make do with Rudd’s “is-it-too-late-to-change-the-name” crack about his alter ego’s moniker at the very end.
