Ant-Man and the Wasp: Everything you need to know

Hugh Armitage, Ian Sandwell

From Digital Spy

After all the anger about Edgar Wright's departure, Ant-Man turned out to be one of the most enjoyable solo outings in the MCU to date.

Ant-Man even enjoyed a scene-stealing moment in Captain America: Civil War as he transformed into Giant-Man, so hopes are high for Ant-Man and the Wasp, which will again be directed by Peyton Reed.

It's also the first Marvel film to be named after its heroine, and we've been promised that Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne is anything BUT a supporting character.

So what else can we expect from the sequel?

Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer

The first trailer is here, and it's got a lot of action (though only reveals a little about the plot). Here's everything we learned from the trailer though the gist is that Scott Lang seems to be on probation after his brush with the authorities in Civil War.

Something happens to send them on the run – with the help of some upgrades including a miniature building, a new flying ant and some sort of incredible shrinking submarine.

Ant-Man and the Wasp release date

Ant-Man and the Wasp arrives in UK cinemas on August 3, 2018 and US cinemas on July 6, 2018.

That places it after Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther, as well as making it the first Marvel film to come out after the epic team-up Avengers: Infinity War.

It's also set to be the final Marvel release of 2018, with Captain Marvel following in 2019.

Ant-Man and the Wasp cast

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly have been on board from the get-go to return as Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne – the titular Ant-Man and Wasp.

Lilly gave us a first look at her in costume to celebrate the 100th birthday of Ant-Man co-creator Jack Kirby.

(Get a better look with extra helmet here.)

Michael Douglas finally confirmed he was coming back as Hope's dad (the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym) in February 2017, when he revealed he had started growing the necessary facial hair for the role; and Michael Peña eventually revealed he was returning as Scott's pal Luis after he backtracked on comments that he hadn't heard if he'd be in the sequel.

Luis will be joined by his burglar mate Kurt, played by David Dastmalchian, who promises we have something "mind-blowing" to look forward to.

Marvel's Comic-Con panel then brought a whole load of casting goodies for Ant-Man and the Wasp, led by the announcement that Michelle Pfieffer would be playing Janet van Dyne, the original hero known as the Wasp, and the mother of Hope and wife of Hank.

It was also revealed that Laurence Fishburne would be making the jump from DC to Marvel to play Dr Bill Foster, who has gone by two superhero names in the comics: Black Goliath and the alternate Hank Pym alias Giant-Man.

The panel saw Marvel confirm that Black Mirror star Hannah John-Kamen would be playing the villainous Ghost, a stealthy spy with a technologically advanced super suit, and Walton Goggins is appearing as Sonny Burch, the Chairman of Cross Technologies (the company founded by the first movie's villain, Darren Cross).

Another newcomer to the MCU will be Fresh Off the Boat's Randall Park as SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo.

It's been reported as well that Judy Greer will be reprising her role as Scott's ex-wife Maggie, leading us to assume that Bobby Cannavale will return for the sequel as Maggie's new husband Paxton, along with Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott and Maggie's daughter Cassie, although neither have been confirmed.

And we might even be seeing Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye in Ant-Man and the Wasp after they teamed up in Civil War, but that's only rumours for now.

Ant-Man and the Wasp plot

As the movie headed into production, Marvel finally released a synopsis for the sequel, although it's still pretty vague.

"In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang (Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father," it reads.

"As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he's confronted by Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past."

Ant-Man is in a strange place in the MCU right now. After his relatively self-contained solo movie, he went straight into fighting alongside Captain America and his rogue Avengers in Civil War. That film finished off with him going on the run with his new teammates.

The film falls between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, which is expected to finish off an over-arching two-part story. It's not clear whether Ant-Man will show up in Infinity War or not yet – the movies might take place simultaneously – but we do know that the Avengers films will have some impact on Ant-Man and the Wasp's plot.

Getting down to specifics, Pfeiffer's role as Janet van Dyne – although it could just be in a flashback – seriously suggests that she might finally return to Earth years after shrinking too small and disappearing into the 'Quantum Realm'. Ant-Man's return from the Quantum Realm indicates that she could still be alive, and some fans think that she can even be seen very, very briefly in the first movie.

Doctor Strange also entered a Quantum Realm-like space in his movie. Could he make a guest appearance to help retrieve the original Wasp from the great beyond?

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