Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's director and producer commented on how important Bill Murray's role is in the upcoming threequel
As exciting as it is to have Bill Murray be a part of the show, the world still has no idea who he is playing. Whoever it is, the actor is part of the film's core cast billing, so his role will be more than just a cameo.
Previous rumors indicated that he will play a character named Krylar, someone who previously appeared in one issue of The Incredible Hulk in 1962 and showed up briefly in Agents of SHIELD.
While the mystery remains, the director of the upcoming film teased what exactly Murray's character will be doing in the movie.
Bill Murray's Key Role in Ant-Man
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed talked about Bill Murray's "crucial role."
Reed revealed that the iconic actor plays "a character from Janet Van Dyne's past:"
“Bill Murray plays a character from Janet van Dyne’s past... It’s a crucial role. A big theme in this movie is the things that parents and kids don’t say to each other, the secrets that they keep in families. In the last movie, when Hank and Hope rescue Janet, Evangeline Lilly’s character had this idea of: Oh, I’m going to be reunited with my mom, this is going to be great, we’re going to talk about everything."
The director noted that Murray's character represents how "the past will always find a way to show up again:"
"But what happens if the other person, in this case Janet, puts up a wall and maybe is not comfortable talking about certain things and doesn’t reveal certain things about her past? As we know from great stories, you can put the past behind you, but the past will always find a way to show up again. Bill’s character represents that in this movie.”
While Murray's great and all, Reed shared how one of the "single most intriguing" parts of the film was getting to work on "the Scott-Cassie relationship" following Avengers: Endgame:
“One of the single most intriguing things that I was excited to do in this movie was progress the Scott-Cassie relationship... It’s been central to all the Ant-Man movies, the big difference here being that, as a result of Endgame, Cassie is now a young woman. She has become a scientific mind in her own right. She’s been going through Hank Pym’s old journals and notebooks, and has really latched on to this idea of quantum science and quantum technology.”
Will Bill Murray Live to Tell the Tale?
While the world may not know who Bill Murray's character is for sure, it probably won't keep them from wondering if he'll make it out of Quantumania.
Going by Peyton Reed's comments above, it seems that Murray will be an old acquaintance of Janet Van Dyne. Seeing as the last time an old friend was a part of the story, ala Laurence Fishburne's Bill Foster, it didn't go so well for the team—hopefully, it'll be different for them this time around.
With Kang the Conqueror being the main villain of the piece, it's possible Murray could hold a secret alliance with Jonathan Majors' character. Krylar could also be behind the last notable group rebelling against Kang's rule.
Then there's MODOK, who hasn't had much revealed about him. Could he be in league with Bill Murray?
Fans will have to wait until Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17, 2023 to find out.
