Ant-Man More Interested in Fatherhood Than Superheroics

Scott Lang is more interested in being a father than a superhero, according to Paul Rudd, who plays the character in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Ant-Man & the Wasp.

Rudd, who is also a writer for the movie, made these comments when Screen Rant visited the set of the film.

He noted that his character is “always getting into trouble,” and that Scott is worried about the negative effect that this is having on his family. As fans of the franchise know, Scott is an ex-con, and the first movie was largely centered around his desire to straighten himself out and renew a relationship with his young daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson).

While he succeeded, his involvement in the events of Captain America: Civil War (joining Captain America’s side against the Sokovia Accords) also took their toll, getting him in more legal trouble. According to Rudd, he plead guilty and thus got house arrest, and now he’s reluctant to take up more superhero work.

Well, I like the idea of playing a superhero that is not innately heroic or super in any way, just you know, a regular person,” he said. “And I like the idea also of not embracing the role because of all of the difficulties that we come along with having to be so badass,” particularly in regards to parenting.

In that regard, he will apparently be trying a different tack: starting the “X-Con Security Consultants” business with his friend Luis (Michael Peña). Rudd says that Scott is excited about the prospect because “it’s him making an honest go of it and it’s hard.”

Despite all of the superhero films that we have had in recent years, the idea of superheroes with families remains largely unexplored in mainstream films (with the obvious exception of Pixar’s Incredibles franchise). Avengers: Age of Ultron revealed that Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has a wife and children, and while this does add some depth to him, the fact that he is generally out of focus means that this angle has gone largely unexplored.

Fortunately, Cassie seems happy with her super-dad, despite his blunders. With any luck, the new movie (which comes out July 6) will see them grow even closer despite the dangers Scott and his partner/love interest Hope/the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) face from villains like the Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).