As Expected, Peyton Reed Close To Signing On For ‘Ant-Man And Wasp’

With Ant-Man an unqualified success for Disney and Marvel, it shouldn’t come as a shock that a sequel was recently greenlit. And it definitely shouldn’t come as a shock that the director who helped shepherd that success might be returning for that sequel. Sources tell Deadline that Peyton Reed is now in talks with Disney and Marvel and to direct Ant-Man and Wasp, the follow up expected to star Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in the title roles.

Reed came into the job late in Ant-Man‘s preproduction, a last-minute replacement for original director (and beloved geek icon) Edgar Wright. Wright bolted over artistic differences in May, 2014, just before it started shooting, and the grumbling of fans who saw it as evidence of disrespect for Wright’s artistic sensibilities was a font of negative early buzz. Reed won fans over a month later at Comic Con 2014 however, when he demonstrated his nerd and Ant-Man fandom bonafides by bringing along drawings of the character he’d made in his teens and twenties. Even so, the drama preceding the production loomed for some time.

Fortunately for all parties involved, the finished film was a hit that, as of this writing, has earned $454 million worldwide for Disney and Marvel, besting the takes of both Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor. Reed is repped by WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. The Hollywood Reporter originally reported the news.