Michael Douglas is currently preparing for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Hank Pym actor also announced that the movie is scheduled to hit theaters in 2022. The follow up to Ant-Man and the Wasp was officially announced in December 2020, though it had been in development since 2019. In addition to Douglas, Ant-Man 3 will see the return of Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, and Evangeline Lilly. Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Cassie Lang, while Lovecraft Country‘s Jonathan Majors will be playing Kang the Conqueror.
It appears that Michael Douglas is pretty excited to get back to work with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Time to grow the goatee,” Douglas wrote on social media. “Hank Pym is back! Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania coming in 2022!” The actor paired his excitement with an image of himself as Hank Pym from the first Ant-Man installment. A 2022 release date for the third movie had been rumored, but not confirmed by Marvel Studios.
As for further returning cast members, it is believed Michael Pe&ña will return as Luis in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It is also expected, though not confirmed, that Judy Greer will return as Maggie and Bobby Cannavale will return as Jim Paxton. As of late last year, Cannavale wasn’t sure he’d be back, noting, “Hopefully I’ll be in it. I better be in it. I’ve gotta get on my phone and call Paul right now actually…” Director Peyton Reed has had his hands full with The Mandalorian, which was largely a secret affair. He’ll now be shifting gears back to the MCU.
If Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania does end up hitting theaters in 2022, it will be a crowded year for Marvel Studios. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Thor: Love and Thunder are all set to release in 2022. However, that could all change in the next few months, as rumors are already swirling about Black Widow getting pushed back again, which means that the Eternals movie will also likely be pushed back. Eternals would likely get pushed to 2022, which means that some of the aforementioned movies will also be moved.
Obviously, nothing has been confirmed when it comes to an MCU release date shuffle. However, what remains clear is the fact that Marvel Studios currently has a lot of projects in the pipeline, which includes their Disney+ shows. MCU fans are currently enjoying WandaVision, which is the first new material from the studio since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Next up is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and then the Loki series. As of this writing, the long awaited standalone Black Widow movie is still on target to release in May. You can check out Michael Douglas’ official Instagram post about beginning work on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania above.