Yesterday, it was confirmed that Canadian comedic actor Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, SCTV) would be coming out of retirement to play Wayne Stalenski in Disney’s new Honey, I Shrunk The Kids movie from director Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger) and starring Josh Gad as Wayne’s son Adam.
This could be great news for Ant-Man 3 director Peyton Reed to hear that he’s coming back to film acting for a Disney movie.
Back in July 2018, director Peyton Reed revealed to the ScreenJunkies crew that he originally tried to get Rick Moranis to cameo in the original Ant-Man film and hints that he might want him to play Scott Lang’s father in Ant-Man 3.
REED: “We actually at one point attempted to get a Rick Moranis cameo in the first Ant-Man. Still during the period where he wasn’t doing so much acting and I think he’s now going to be on the SCTV Scorsese directed thing (Netflix reunion special) which I’m super psyched about.”
“But always still an unchecked box for me.”
SCREEN JUNKIES: Part three!
REED: Scott Lang’s dad?…
If Payton Reed sounded enthusiastic about Rick being involved with the SCTV Special for Netflix, he’s going to be happy about the news about him joining the cast of Disney’s Shrunk.
The connective tissue is that both Ant-Man and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids are about shrinking the lead characters and placing them in these alien-like environments.
I personally think it would be kind of awesome to see Moranis playing Scott’s dad even if it’s for a single scene.
Ant-Man 3 will begin production in 2021 at Pinewood Studios UK in England with Dr. Hank Pym actor Michael Douglas suggesting to Collider last year that filming could start as early as next January.
DOUGLAS: “The Marvel world has really been a blast! I love them I’m having a great time. We’re starting a third one beginning in January of [2021].”
Reprising their roles alongside Douglas will be Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man and Evangeline Lily as Hope Pym aka The Wasp.
There hasn’t been confirmed but there is some expectation that Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, and Randall Park (appearing in WandaVision this fall) will be returning as well alongside Avengers: Endgame actress Emma Fuhrmann, who plays an older version of Cassie Lang.
Oddly enough, screenwriters have yet to be announced for the sequel.
There is a good chance that writing duo Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna could be involved with the Ant-Man 3 script given their previous work on Ant-Man & The Wasp along with Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the upcoming untitled Spider-Man 3 (set to begin shooting this summer).
We don’t know much about the third installment other than some early rumors that have suggested that the Young Avengers might appear, which would make some sense given that Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie Lang (played by Emma Fuhrmann in Avengers: Endgame) is a member of the team named Stature.
There has also been some chatter that other members of the Young Avengers could be introduced in the Disney+ shows, WandaVision’s footage from the Super Bowl ad confirmed the appearance of the pair’s twins. The two named Wiccan and Speed end up becoming Young Avengers.
It remains to be seen of the twins in the show are specifically in Wanda’s mind or will actually become living characters in the MCU.
More wild speculation over the last two years is that the Quantum Realm could directly connect to the Fantastic Four or other Marvel superheroes and villains.
Marvel Studios has yet to give Ant-Man 3 an official release date in 2022 but there is a good chance it lands a spot either on February 18th or July 29th.
There have been some assumptions that the May 6th, 2022 spot will be saved for Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2 given the box office success of the first installment.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, Disney, and Peyton Reed can convince Rick to appear in Ant-Man 3.
