Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania features yet another star-studded cast for the MCU's 10th Phase 4 movie, including more than a handful of veterans from the first two shrinking outings. Included in that cast is Michelle Pfeiffer, who returns for her second portrayal of the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, after her making Marvel debut in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Pfeiffer should have the opportunity for an expanded role in the MCU threequel after spending most of her first movie trapped in the Quantum Realm, eventually leaving with Michael Douglas' Hank Pym. The character also has plenty to catch up on after she, Hank, and their daughter Hope turned to dust for five years, all before they tackle everything that the Quantum Realm will throw at them next year.
At the moment, there isn't a ton of public information regarding Ant-Man 3's plot, which will remain the case for the foreseeable future with the film not set to debut for more than 15 months. In a recent interview, Pfeiffer shared just how far those secrets go from her own experience working with the Marvel Studios machine.
Michelle Pfeiffer on Keeping Marvel's Secrets
Speaking with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Michelle Pfeiffer went into detail on how secretive Marvel Studios is with their process.
The veteran actress revealed that she wasn't told if she would come back for more movies after her first appearance, calling the whole process "mysterious" and "secretive." She even admitted that this makes things difficult as an actor, looking back to how there was no script for Ant-Man and the Wasp when she signed on:
Fallon: “These Marvel movies… Now, when you signed up for the first [film]…You do the first Ant-Man, and you go, ‘Oh, this is cool,’ and you’re in that film. Does Marvel tell you that you’re going to be [in] another– Does Marvel explain to you that– how many [films] you’re in, possibly?”
Pfeiffer: “No. No. No. They’re very mysterious… And, you know, they’re very secretive, of course, of their story lines and all of that. So secretive.
Fallon: But I kind of like that. Well, it must be hard for you.”
Pfeiffer: “It’s a little hard, because, you know, I met with Peyton [Reed] and I knew a little bit about the character, but there was no script… And you have to commit without actually having read anything.”
That was something that Pfeiffer had never done before, showing how much faith she had in what Marvel Studios had planned for the movie. However, she also made it clear that the script "changes every day" even after its written, leading to some internal challenges for her considering she's "not improvisational:"
Fallon: “Have you ever done that before?”
Pfeiffer: “No.”
Fallon: “Wow! That’s -- You have a lot of faith there.”
Pfeiffer: “I did. But, you know, it’s kind of -- And it wouldn’t have mattered, because it all changes anyway. So, yeah, it’s sort of you don’t really know what you’re getting into, and then you get a script sort of right before you start shooting… and then it changes every day… And then you shoot the movie and you wrap, and then it changes again… It’s so nerve-wra-- I mean, for me… it’s just so nerve[-wracking] -- I’m not improvisational. I’m not… I’m very controlling.”
Marvel Secrets Bring New Challenges
Although the movie industry as a whole is more secretive in this era, largely due to the present-day trend of scooping and discovering movie secrets, Marvel Studios helped push that trend forward upon the MCU's debut. After all, this is a studio that literally drove Samuel L. Jackson from his trailer to the edge of the set in Iron Man to keep his Avengers-centric post-credits scene from leaking to the public.
This trend continued through every subsequent franchise adding to the narrative, which admittedly made it a difficult experience for actors who hadn't dealt with that level of secrecy in their careers. Even for Pfeiffer, who has superhero movie experience with DC's Batman Returns, her time with Marvel Studios was a new kind of challenge as she took on her role.
Pfeiffer's role in Ant-Man 3 is still largely a mystery to the public, which seems only appropriate considering how little Pfeiffer herself knew about the next part of her MCU journey.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will debut in theaters on July 28, 2023.
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