Fine. Sure.

Earlier this year I found a lot to latch onto in Whedon’s messy and personal Avengers: Age Of Ultron, but when it came time for Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man – despite being a proud, diehard fan of Paul Rudd – I just couldn’t muster up the energy to care. I liked the idea of smaller (heh), more intimate scales after the mostly nonsensical finale of Age Of Ultron, but other than Rudd’s playfulness I found Ant-Man an utterly middling experience, even for Marvel. So, as you can imagine, today’s news that they’re moving forward on a sequel, Ant-Man And The Wasp, this soon (July 2018) is having the same effect. Meh.

If there’s anything piquing my interest in this story it’s that Evangeline Lilly’s Hope (or, The Wasp) has been bumped up to a title character. Her sidelining in the film felt like a total misuse of her and the character, so seeing them move forward with her as Rudd’s partner in crime seems like the right decision. It also makes her the first heroine to be a titular character in the MCU, which is exciting – not that it’s that big of a deal since, prior to this update, July 2018 was the home of Captain Marvel, the first solo heroine that has now been pushed back 4 months to early 2019.The frustration expressed amongst fans at another delay for Ms. Danvers (the first came to make room for Spider-Man) is understandable but for a film still looking to hire the majority of its talent (no writer, director or lead actress yet), it’s entirely possible it’s a necessary delay – moving forward on Ant-Man And The Wasp sooner could easily be a result of needing more time to get Danvers right, which we shouldn’t begrudge them for. How much would it suck if Marvel’s first solo heroine wasn’t given the justice she deserves?

And as a result this also means we’re getting Black Panther (featuring the wonderful Chadwick Boseman) sooner than expected in February 2018 which is exciting as, other than the potential weirdness and mysticism of Doctor Strange, it is the character I have the most interest in, moving forward in the MCU. And pushing it sooner suggests Marvel is much closer to finding a director for it then they are with Captain Marvel. I respect Ava DuVernay’s decision not take on the film, but I can’t help imagining her Black Panther… sigh.

What do you guys make of this news?