It may not have been Marvel Studios’ most profitable film, but Ant-Man was apparently big enough to warrant a sequel of its own. This morning, Disney announced that Ant-Man and The Wasp will premiere in theaters on July 6, 2018, pushing The Black Panther out of its original release date. The sequel will continue the adventures of Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd, and Hope Pym, played by Evangeline Lilly, who received her own shrinking superhero suit at the end of the first movie.
To make room for Ant-Man and The Wasp, which of course is rather ironic (because they’re tiny!), The Black Panther will now arrive earlier than expected, on February 16, 2018. The schedule change will also effect the upcoming Marvel Studios movie Captain Marvel, which will move from its original release date of November 2, 2018 all the way back to March 8, 2019.
Related: Marvel’s Phase 2: The Hits and The Misses
In a strange twist of fate, Captain Marvel was all set to be Marvel’s first film with a female superhero headliner. Now that honor goes to be Ant-Man and The Wasp, although the female superhero in that film only gets second-billing.
Marvel Studios has also just announced the release of three new movies, all scheduled to premiere in 2020. So mark your calendars, because May 1, July 10 and November 6 in the year 2020 will all be dominated by Marvel superhero movies.
What will they be? We can only speculate, but the odds are very good that Marvel is reserving real estate for more sequels t0 their Phase 3 lineup. So don’t be surprised if 2020 brings us another Spider-Man, Doctor Strange or The Black Panther.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
