How Scott Lang's Feelings On Superheroes Have Changed After Avengers: Endgame, According To Paul Rudd

A surprising amount of time has passed since we first met Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) back in 2015. His 8-year-old daughter Cassie is now 18, and Lang himself has come a long, long way from the carefree, irresponsible man we met at the start of "Ant-Man." With "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" taking place years after the game-changing, world-altering events of "Avengers: Endgame," it's easy to wonder how Scott's perspective on superheroes has changed since 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp." At a recent press conference attended by /Film's own Jeremy Mathai, Paul Rudd shed some light on what we can expect.

"I think that he's kind of grown a lot over the course of nine years or so we've been doing these movies," Rudd explained. "I mean, this is a guy who had a regular job, he was brought into this group with no innate super abilities, but then he went up and fought Thanos... He's experienced a thing or two and he's accepted who he is."

By the sound of it, any fears Scott has had that he's not as good as the other Avengers have long since been overcome. He feels comfortable enough as a legitimate superhero that he's even written a book about his experiences. As Rudd put it, "I wouldn't say [Scott]'s taking a victory lap, but others might say that. And he's written a book... a bit of a memoir, a 'look out for the little guy,' and he's explained everything that's been going on in his life and his experiences with adventures." But although Scott's made peace with his role as Ant-Man, what he wants most of all in this new film is to be a regular father.

"I think that he really does want to be a dad and this is, I think, his main focus," Rudd said. "He always had a kind of love-hate relationship with it, I think, but now, I feel as if he's accepted it."

Basically, the Scott we'll meet at the start of "Quantumania" is someone who's missed out on a major period of his daughter's life, and he wants to make up for lost time. This goal is complicated by the fact that, well, Cassie's changed since Scott's absence, and navigating this new dynamic with her is going to be a challenge. "Cassie's older, you know, she has ideas of her own," said Rudd, "So we're trying to kind of grapple with all of that."

So as much as Scott's feelings on superheroes may have evolved over the years, "Quantumania" follows along with the first two films' focus on his evolving relationship with his family members. As director Payton Reed explained alongside Rudd at the press conference:

"Everyone's keeping secrets from Scott at the beginning of the movie and then, suddenly they're thrust in the quantum realm, and they have to kind of work out these family dynamics, while being in this bizarro whacked out world. It is really the theme of family that, I think, is the constant of the movies."

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" hits theaters on February 17, 2023.