Ant-Man and the Wasp star Paul Rudd has recently revealed that he is unsure if Marvel Studios will produce a third Ant-Man movie. While he admits that it's possible, and even has some ideas of what it will be like, he still remains uncertain.
Though the first Ant-Man in 2015 was certainly entertaining, it did not explode for Marvel Studios the way most of their movies do, becoming one of the lowest grossing additions to the franchise. Despite this, Marvel still seemed intent on creating the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, which releases next month. Unfortunately, early box office predictions hint that it will still not perform well compared to other Marvel projects, possibly ending on the same box office level as the first Ant-Man. Because of this, the possibility of an Ant-Man 3 does seem rather unlikely.
In an interview with Screen Rant, the Ant-Man actor himself Paul Rudd addressed the future of the franchise, and how uncertain he is on whether or not the Ant-Man movies will become a trilogy. Here's what he had to say.
"I don't know. I've had some thoughts. You know, if they were, I have no idea whether or not if they'll do anything else with this. I really don't. Marvel's very good at keeping their cards close to their chest, not just with the public. But I've thought about things, like if we ever did another one what could it be? And I've had some thoughts, but I hesitate to say what they are in case we do wind up going in that direction and some of those things that Scott is dealing with are things that I'm thinking of now."
While it would be great to see more of Ant-Man in the coming years, it does seem unlikely that Ant-Man will receive another sequel. If Ant-Man and the Wasp performs phenomenally next month, or if Ant-Man becomes the highlight in Avengers 4, it'll be more likely for Marvel to expand on his franchise. However, as things stand now, Ant-Man and the Wasp may be the final solo adventure for the shrinking superheroes, and their future appearances may be exclusively in ensemble Avengers sequels.
Paul Rudd was also asked if they saw any future for the Ant-Man character Cassie Lang, who is Ant-Man's daughter that became a growing superhero in the comics. The trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp seemingly hinted that Marvel may take Cassie in that direction. Here is what Rudd had to say about this theory.
"That's an interesting thing. I don't know. One of the things I think does separate this is this whole thing about family, and parents, and kids, and certainly my relationship with Cassie is a huge component of it. But it's also a father-daughter relationship with Hope and Hank and this, it does seem like it's their family business. I don't know. That's a good idea, yeah."
All in all, it is still possible to see a third Ant-Man movie in the future, but as Paul Rudd discussed with Screen Rant, it may not be entirely probable. It will more than likely be based on the reception to Ant-Man and the Wasp next month, and if Marvel fans truly express that they want to see more of this bug-themed superhero.