Marvel announces ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ bumps back ‘Captain Marvel’ (again)

Marvel has officially updated its slate of Phase 3 films to include an “Ant-Man” sequel.

The studio announced a follow-up to this year’s “Ant-Man,” which has so far grossed $409.5 million worldwide (with $178.5 million of that from the domestic box office), but it won’t be a traditional “solo” title sequel.

Much like how the film broke free from the traditional superhero origin story mold by being the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to be about a superhero passing on his mantel to the next generation, the “Ant-Man” sequel is not just titled “Ant-Man 2.” Also, there’s a woman sharing the headline.

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The sequel is titled “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” meaning Hope Van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lilly) will finally get some official recognition. While the end credit tease in “Ant-Man” was nice, a brief glance at her super-suit was definitely just that -- a tease.

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For the Record
2:40 p.m.: An earlier version of this post referred to Evangeline Lilly’s “Ant-Man” character as Janet Van Dyne. Lilly played Hope, the daughter of original Wasp Janet.

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This makes “Ant-Man and the Wasp” the first occasion that a Marvel film has a female hero in the title.

The film is scheduled for a July 6, 2018, release, which of course affects some other release dates previously announced for the MCU Phase 3 slate, including what just so happens to be the only Marvel movie starring a female solo character.

July 6, 2018, was the release date initially announced for “Captain Marvel” back in Oct. 2014. Now, after already having been pushed back to Nov. 2, 2018, “Captain Marvel” is slated for a March 8, 2019 release. Meaning fans will have to wait even longer for their first actualsolo superheroine Marvel movie.

An announcement released by Disney (which owns Marvel Studios) this morning reveals that the Nov. 2, 2018, slot is now reserved for an untitled live-action Disney fairy tale film.

“Black Panther,” on the other hand, which had most recently occupied the July 6, 2018, release date, has been pushed forward for a Feb. 16, 2018, release.

In additional MCU news, three more untitled films have been announced for 2020. While these films have no titles (hey, 2020 is five years away), they do have release dates: May 1, July 10 and Nov. 6.

One had better be a Squirrel Girl movie, or we riot.

Twitter: @tracycbrown