Fans of Marvel’s Ant-Man film series will have to wait for two more years before its third installment hits theaters.
As revealed in the sizzle reel for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which was released earlier this week, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to premiere in cinemas on February 17th, 2023 ― almost five years after the July 2018 debut of the film series’ second installment, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was officially announced in November 2019 with Peyton Reed, director of the first two Ant-Man movies, returning to helm the sequel. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are reprising their titular roles, alongside Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer who are both coming back to play Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, respectively.
Joining the cast for the first time is Kathryn Newton and Jonathan Majors. Newton is taking over the role of Scott Lang’s daughter who was played by Emma Fuhrmann in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Majors, meanwhile, is set to make his MCU debut in the movie as the time-traveling villain Kang the Conqueror.
Filming on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was originally scheduled to begin in January 2021 for a 2022 release date but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though early shooting for the film started in Turkey last February, principal photography won’t begin until May 31st. The movie will shoot in Atlanta and London, with filming expected to last until September 24th.
Plot details on the follow-up movie are being kept under wraps, but Reed told Collider last August that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be a “bigger, more sprawling movie than the first two [with] a very different visual template.”
In the same month, following rumors that Lilly would have a reduced role in the sequel, Reed pointed out in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment that the actress would continue to get equal billing in the film alongside Rudd, as she is “a very, very important part” of the partnership between Ant-Man and the Wasp.