"Baskin Robbins always finds out."
– Luis
Recently, while participating in an interview with IGN alongside his 12 STRONG co-star Chris Hemsworth, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP actor Michael Pena discussed what it's like to be a member of the MCU character pantheon. As you are likely aware, Pena plays Luis opposite Paul Rudd's Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man. While his character doesn't wield a mystical hammer like Hemworth's Thor, or cast magic like Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, Luis injects an admirable amount of humor into the MCU by way of his own light-hearted musings. He's the type of character you'd want to have waiting in the wings when your best laid plan to thwart world domination goes tits up, and you need an outside man to help sway the odds in your favor.
During his talk with IGN, Pena told the outlet that he and Hemsworth couldn't help but discuss their respective parts of the MCU by saying, “We talked about it on the first day. It's a whole different kind of club to be in, the Marvel Universe. I don’t know if they'll use me for the third movie, I still really don't know. It's cool to make a little bit of a mark on that Marvel Universe and it's kind of a cool club, they run a really cool studio.”
With that being said, Pena found himself holding back the urge to ask Hemsworth for a crossover role in whatever lies ahead for the God of Thunder: "I didn't but I should have so maybe I should say something? I've never worked with anyone else from the Marvel Universe. I've just worked with Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas which is a pretty cool list.”
For ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, Pena once again reprises his role as Lang's friend, Luis, though how their relationship evolves throughout the sequel Michael was reluctant to say: “I can't really say because I guess they're good buddies, they've always been good buddies and I think they're remaining good buddies. I've got to be very vague, very general, but I guess he's following more of the American dream and trying to better himself. He loves that universe and everybody knows Tony Stark and those guys. I guess he's just trying to make his life better. I think that's the best way to say it.”
Lastly, Pena confessed that while he had plenty of opportunities to ad-lib during the filming of ANT-MAN, he will be adhering to a bit more pre-written material as Luis becomes more involved with the events of the sequel: “In the first movie, me and Paul created the character, I was trying out different characters, they were a little bit more lenient with ideas and I would improvise a lot. This one was different, they wanted me to do more pre-written alternative takes so I would do those and then I had a little bit of time for my improv but I think it's mainly written, this one.”
While I'm not sure that placing restraits on Pena's verbal creativity for the sequel is in Luis' best interest, it does make me curious to find out if something bigger and better is planned for his character as the MCU continues to grow. However it all shakes out, fans can look forward to seeing Michael Pena when he appears beside Paul Rudd, Evageline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judy Greer, Walton Goggins, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas in ANT-MAN AND THE WASP buzzing into theaters on July 6th.