Peyton Reed will return to direct Ant-Man 3

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It's time to return to the Quantum Realm as THR has announced that Peyton Reed will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to direct ANT-MAN 3, the third installment of the MCU franchise which includes ANT-MAN and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP.

Like most Marvel projects, plot details for ANT-MAN 3 are being kept under wraps at this early stage, but THR's sources have said that the plan is to shoot the sequel in late 2020 or early 2021 for a 2022 release. BLACK PANTHER 2 is the only Marvel film currently slated to hit theaters that year, but Disney also has February 18th and July 29th pegged for untitled Marvel films. As the previous ANT-MAN movies have both been released in July, I'd put my money on ANT-MAN 3 hitting theaters on July 29, 2022. THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER and DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS are both expected to kick off production before ANT-MAN 3. Paul Rudd will naturally be returning as Scott Lang, marking his fifth appearence in the MCU following ANT-MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, and AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Less than a month ago, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was asked about Marvel's plans for Scott Lang, but he would only tease that "The chess pieces were arranged very purposefully after ‘Endgame.’ Those that are off the board are off, and those that are still on, you never know."

Neither ANT-MAN nor ANT-MAN AND THE WASP were major earners for Marvel, at least not compared to the billions which movies such as BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, CAPTAIN MARVEL, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, and SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME have earned in recent years, so I wasn't entirely certain that a third ANT-MAN film was in the cards. I've always had fun with the ANT-MAN films, so I'm definitely glad to see the studio moving forward with a third.

What are your hopes for the third ANT-MAN film?