Exclusive Interview – Ant-Man and the Wasp director Peyton Reed on female superheroes and defying his critics

Tom Beasley sits down with Ant-Man and the Wasp director Peyton Reed as the film buzzes into UK cinemas…

Peyton Reed was put in a very tough position when he directed Ant-Man back in 2015. Edgar Wright had left the project after years of development over “creative differences”, but everyone knew that huge amounts of the finished movie grew from the DNA of Wright’s original story. He has stayed in his post, however, as director of Ant-Man and the Wasp, free of the spectre of Wright.

He’s presiding over the movie featuring the MCU’s first titular female superhero in Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp, who joins forces with Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man in an adventure that spans just a couple of days, but takes in both the normal world as we know it and the psychedelic quantum realm. It’s an ambitious blockbuster with a tough act to follow after the madness of Avengers: Infinity War.

Ahead of the arrival of Ant-Man and the Wasp on this side of the Atlantic, Reed sat down with Flickering Myth to discuss the latest entry in the MCU. Watch the interview here…

From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym 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 the past.

Ant-Man and the Wasp sees Peyton Reed returning to the director’s chair and stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michael Pena (Luis), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie Lang), Judy Greer (Maggie), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton) and T.I. (Dave), while new additions to the cast include Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne, Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster/Goliath, Hannah John-Kamen as The Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo.

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.