I was invited as media to cover this press event. All opinions are mine alone.
Today’s post includes Ant-Man spoilers, so read at your own risk!
Peyton Reed & Kevin Feige Interview
While sitting down with Director Peyton Reed & Marvel President Kevin Feige a few weeks ago, they revealed movie spoilers and much more. Peyton was a Marvel fanboy growing up, even sketching a punk band in high school that resembled “The Avengers #1” cover. Each band member was a different Avenger, coincidentally Reed drew himself as Ant-Man.
Reed shares [Ant-Man] “is the kind of movie I’ve wanted to do for a really long time.” During a conversation with Visual Effects Supervisor, Jake Morrison, Reed describes Ant-Man as the “definitive shrinking movie for 2015.”
During the interview Reed mentioned that he studied old heist movies like “Oceans Eleven” and “Thomas Crown Affair,” adding that there’s a certain rhythm that heist movies have. When describing the film, Reed said, “I love the idea that it can have big stakes, have heart, but it’s funny,” adding “when you have Paul Rudd at the center of it you know it’s gonna be funny.”
Kevin Feige mentioned that during test screenings oftentimes the Marvel films are rated higher by women in the audience than by men. He goes on to share powerful women are in the Marvel films because, “we all have powerful women in our lives. That’s the way of the world.” When speaking about Evangeline not wearing the wasp suit because she is more capable than Scott Lang, Feige mentioned, ” it became the cruxt of her issues with her dad and her issues with the relationship they had growing up. And why it becomes a big reveal in the movie.” Yep, you read that right. Keep reading!
While doing research on ants for the movie, Reed’s mother sent him one of his childhood books “World of Insects,” which featured an ant on the cover. Reed enjoyed catching up with his inner child as he leafed through the old book. Reed shares, “I loved that we were able to tell the story of these distinct types of ants and they have specific skill sets. And they’re all based on reality. I love that a kid can see the movie and he’s like, “Oh a carpenter ant, how could that happen?” They go on Wikipedia or they read a book about them and it’s all based on fact.”
Ant-Man Spoilers!
Fact: Anthony Mackey aka Falcon makes an appearance in the film. When Scott Lang is learning the skills of Ant-Man, he’s sent on a secret mission to the Avengers camp where he encounters Falcon. There is a fight scene too!
Fact: The wasp suit is not worn in the movie, however it is revealed at the end when Pym surprises his daughter with a new version of the suit. Feige confirms that Hope will don the suit in an upcoming Marvel movie.
Fact: Stay for both credits. Yes – both. There are 2 reveals at the end of the movie. One of those confirms that Ant-Man will return!
Extra:
- The costumer designer and team constructed 13 Ant-Man suits, 17 helmets, 17 belts, 8 pairs of gloves, 15 backpacks, 6 pairs of shoes, 15 balaclavas and 14 necklaces that go on the balaclava.
- The Ant-Man suit is made of leather and resembles a vintage motorcycle suit. It has a worn look and is battle-scarred to harken back to when Hank Pym was Ant-Man and wore the suit on missions.
- Each Ant-Man helmet has 54 different pieces to it as well as 10 LED lights. If you add in the nuts and bolts and the helmet lining, it’s over 60 individual components just for each helmet.
- In each Ant-Man suit there are over 159 LED lights, which are controlled remotely. All the circuitry and batteries for the lights are in a very small backpack. The whole suit can light up, including the gloves and belt.
Ant-Man is in theaters everywhere! I highly recommend seeing this Marvel film. For other insider information, check out the following posts: Ant-Man movie review, Corey Stoll interview, #Antourage, Michael Douglas, and Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly.
See the Ant-Man trailer here:
Picture credits Marvel/Disney, Marvel wiki, Louise Bishop/MomStart.com
