Marvel wants to stay in the Ant-Man business. Following up the character’s solo film grossing $409 million globally this summer and Paul Rudd reprising his role in next year’s Captain America: Civil War, the studio is making room in its upcoming “Phase 3” slate for a new film featuring Ant-Man. And this time, he’ll have a companion.
On Thursday, Marvel announced that Ant-Man and the Wasp was in development for a July 8, 2018 release. That title obviously means Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne will be suiting up to join Scott Lang in some insect-sized adventures, following through on discovering the suit her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) designed for her at the end of Ant-Man.
In its official press release, Marvel also touted this film being its first with a female hero in the title. (It will also beat out DC’s Wonder Woman movie, scheduled for June 23, 2017.) But since the Wasp is sharing the title with Ant-Man, does that really count? Still, it’s a step in the right direction.
However, the release date of Ant-Man and the Wasp affects another Marvel film featuring a heroine in the title, Captain Marvel. That movie is now being pushed back four months to March 8, 2019. (It was previously moved back from July 2018 to November of that year.) The studio is also bumping Black Panther up six months to a Feb. 16, 2018 release.
Perhaps the most intriguing news is that Marvel is also making three additional as-yet-unnamed films, likely part of a “Phase 4” slate scheduled after Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2. In light of those announcements, here is how the studio’s schedule lines up through 2020.
- Captain America: Civil War – May 6, 2016
- Doctor Strange – Nov. 4, 2016
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017
- Spider-Man – July 28, 2017
- Thor: Ragnarok – Nov. 3, 2017
- Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1 – May 4, 2018
- Black Panther – Feb. 16, 2018
- Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018
- Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019
- Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2 – May 3, 2019
- Inhumans – July 12. 2019
- TBD – May 1, 2020
- TBD – July 10, 2020
- TBD – Nov. 6, 2020
[Marvel]
