What The Ant-Man Movies Are Truly About, According To Director Peyton Reed

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is regular guy who happened to stumble headfirst into superherodom. That, uh, doesn't feel like a word, but you get the idea. He might have a suit that allows him to grow to the size of a skyscraper and shrink to the size of an ant, but he's no more inherently magical or fantastic than that Wi-Fi-enabled "Harry Potter" wand you bought to replace your TV remote with and then promptly forgot existed. 

Despite this, his humanity is kind of the whole reason the "Ant-Man" movies work. Well, that and the fact that he's portrayed by Rudd, the living embodiment of harmless charm. Fortunately for us, Peyton Reed, the director of "Ant-Man," "Ant-Man and the Wasp," and the upcoming "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," understands this. More importantly, it seems like he's always understood this — that beneath the façade of CGI and spandex, Scott's time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never been about anything more important than his daughter, Cassie Lang (Abby Ryder Fortson, Emma Fuhrmann, Kathryn Newton, depending on the film). Here's the story, as shared by Reed.

During a press conference for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" attended by /Film's Jeremy Mathai, Peyton Reed shared what he believes to be the emotional core of the "Ant-Man" films: Family. He's fascinated by family and what holds it together — and what breaks it apart. Reed said: 

"The 'Ant-Man' movies have really always been about family. It is a generational story about a family of heroes and Scott Lang, who is not a billionaire super scientist, or anything getting sucked into this world, and Hope van Dyne, who is the legacy daughter of two superheroes ... it's this generational thing. And now young Cassie Lang who is probably Scott's biggest motivating factor. Having time with his daughter. He wants to be a hero, obviously, he's an Avenger, but it's really about work-life balance and also finding time with his daughter."

Reed went on to mention that Cassie is now a young adult with her own personality and flaws and history and that will become a huge factor in the new relationship dynamic between her and Scott. Nothing like spending a few unsolicited days in the Quantum Realm to force the family into some much-needed conversations, right? 

As Reed went on to explain, those uncomfortable conversations will be the crux of the personal struggles in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." Well, that and multiversal threat that is Kang the Conqueror (Jonathon Majors), but he's not important right now. As it turns out, everyone's been keeping secrets, and those secrets are going to come to light. As Reed explained:

"We continue the story of this family and, I think in 'Quantumania,' one of the things we've done is really broaden that story and start talking about the secrets the family members keep from each other, the things they don't tell each other. And at the beginning of the movie very quickly, we find out that maybe Janet hasn't told the family about her 30 years in the Quantum Realm. And maybe Hope and Hank have not told Scott about what they're working on with Cassie down in the basement..."

It's important to remember that "Quantumania" isn't just a family drama. We might be ignoring Kang for the purposes of this article, but that doesn't make him go away. The guy's out there rewriting existence and shattering timelines ... the stakes are a lot higher than a simple daddy-daughter feud. It's nice, though, to know that we can expect a few more personal moments.

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