During an interview for the German outlet FAZ in which he spoke about Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Hollywood legend Bill Murray revealed he’s part of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Now we cannot sleep again until we figure out exactly who’s Murray playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a translation of the interview, via Variety, Murray said he’s “not interested in these huge comic book adaptations.” However, he took the gig on Quantumania because of director Peyton Reed. As Murray explains it, “I got to know the director — and really liked him very much. He was funny, humble, everything you want from a director.” However, even though his experience with Quantumania was overall positive, Murray doesn’t think he’ll come back for another Marvel movie in the future. In Murray’s words, “the director is a good guy, and now I’ve at least tried out what it’s like to shoot a Marvel movie. But I don’t think I need that experience a second time.”
By the looks of it, Murray won’t probably be cast as a major hero that is set to show up again in future films. However, there are plenty of options for us to consider. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Marvel cast Laurence Fishburne as a retired version of Bill Foster, the superhero known as Goliath. Considering that Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is an older man in the MCU, we could be looking at another former partner of the original Ant-Man, like Erik Josten’s Atlas.
Or maybe Murray will play a former villain involved with Pym. Egghead was teased in Ant-Man and the Wasp as the father of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and even if he’s supposedly dead, maybe he could come back from the grave for a cameo. Or, if Marvel is trying to tap on Murray’s comedic experience, he could play an elder version of some forgotten and weird Ant-Man villain, such as Porcupine. There are just too many great possibilities, and we sure hope to find out the truth soon enough.
Quantumania cast will bring back Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp/Hope van Dyne, Douglas as Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne. In addition, Kathryn Newton has replaced Avengers: Endgame’s Emma Fuhrmann as Cassie. As Newton is a more recognizable star, her casting might indicate that Scott’s daughter might finally become the superheroine Stature.
The first two Ant-Man movies didn’t break any box office records, contrary to other MCU franchises. However, Quantumania can change this since the movie’s big baddie is Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a villain just introduced in Loki’s season finale. Kang is building up to replace Thanos as the central menace for the Avengers, and should this prove to be true in the next couple of years, Quantumania might be a major film for Phase Four, instead of another side adventure.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be coming to theaters on July 28, 2023.