'Ant-Man 2' news, cast, spoilers: Why a sequel to Ant-Man is uncertain
"Ant-Man" has been an expected hit, grossing around $400 million. Led by Paul Rudd, with the main purpose of introducing the small-sized superhero, this was basically all in preparation for Phase 3 and 4 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Although it has been somewhat expected that the film would gain good audience reception due to Marvel's quality of superhero films, perhaps it was a little too good since it now poses a problem for the studios — a good kind of problem, though.
According to Cinemablend, Marvel is now facing a situation where it is producing too much sub-franchises within its cinematic universe, more than it can probably handle. The studio has likely adjusted its production schedule enough to accommodate "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," and with four years fully booked ahead, it's hard to say if Marvel can even afford — time-wise — to continue on further producing sequels for stand-alone films.
As of now, Marvel's four-year schedule is packed with introductory stand-alone superhero films. With a reboot of "Spider-Man" in the works, as well as "Doctor Strange," "Black Panther," "Captain Marvel," and "Inhumans," all these characters are supposed to get together with the release of "Infinity War," which is divided into two parts. The third installment for "Thor" is also scheduled for production amid all the new films, but then again Thor is a major main member of the Avengers, and his story must be told to some sort of conclusion. This leaves the fate of films for minor characters like Ant-Man in uncertain waters. It would also explain why other characters, such as "Black Widow" and "Hawkeye," which are also original Avenger members, can't even have their own stand-alone films.
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Kevin Feige, the man behind Marvel studios, is quite aware of this problem. Although he is seemingly trying to figure out how to go about this, a solution may not come so soon. When asked about whether a sequel for Ant-Man can be expected, he answered, "The answer is I don't really know. We're entering territory that's an incredible problem to have, which is too many franchises to navigate. That's a very very high class problem, and if we're faced with that high class problem, we will try to figure out a solution in a way that allows us to produce the movies in the way we have."
It is quite a relief, though, that the studio is interested in exploring Ant-Man's story further, and that they are simple stumped by resources and time. For now, fans of the little guy are somehow pacified by the idea that they will see him in action once more as he partakes in "Captain America: Civil War," which will be released on May 6, 2016.
