The 2015 calendar year for movies is one full of hugely anticipated franchise sequels. From Avengers: Age of Ultron to Jurassic World to Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Spectre, these should easily be in the Top 10 for box office earners this year. These are some of the most anticipated films coming but there is one that should top your list more than these obvious choices and it is Marvel's Ant-Man.
Before you think The Daily SuperHero has gone crazy for making such a wild claim, let me tell you why you should be more excited for Ant-Man than any other blockbuster movie in 2015. It's as simple as stating that the unknown factor and mystery surrounding Ant-Man is much more than what you're expecting from the others.
Fans know what they are getting with Age of Ultron and that's a lot of action and lots of fun. Fans know what they are getting with Jurassic World and that's suspense with a tremendous amount of dinosaur action. Fans should know what to expect with The Force Awakens and that's an entertaining mix of sensational action pieces, sets and computer graphic effects.
But why Ant-Man? Let me give you some bullet points for why you should be eagerly anticipating this movie more than the others.
- As stated above, the unknown factor and mystery surrounding the Ant-Man character should create lots of intrigue especially after seeing its first teaser trailer (see the teaser below).
- It's a Marvel Studios movie about a founding member of the Avengers (in the comic book universe) who is not well known outside of comic readers. It will be interesting to see how Michael Douglas' Hank Pym character is adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how his work in the past affected the modern day events of the MCU.
- Being a Peyton Reed movie means there's a lot of unknown on how his vision and style fits into the MCU. While Reed has some arguably lackluster films on his resume, most directors do too, he is known to be a huge comic book fanatic. So much that he's been to more San Diego Comic-Con Conventions than Marvel fans who are currently in high school. (Reportedly 20 times.)
- It's a Paul Rudd movie. The man doesn't age, he's in the greatest shape of his career and the ladies love him. (#SexPanther)
- Most importantly Ant-Man is Marvel Studios' first hero who has a daughter he is fighting for. This will bring the fathers and their daughters into theaters in droves because it hits on a very personal and relatable level since it's about family.
- Not much is known about the plot of the film except that Rudd's character (Scott Lang) loves to steal, but he's actually doing it to help his daughter. Stealing is bad, sure. In the film it's an honorable theme, albeit misguided, regarding his intentions.
- This is more for the comic readers: The villain Yellowjacket is being adapted from a hero in the comics to a baddie in the MCU. This should peek interests in seeing how this new adaptation of the character pans out.
- Finally, will Evangeline Lilly's character Hope van Dyne follow in her mother's (Janet van Dyne a.k.a. Wasp) footsteps and become a new Wasp at the end of the film?
If there's one thing that has happened in the past 12 months for Marvel Studios, it's that their brand is now carrying as much weight for the studio as having Robert Downey Jr. in a starring role has in their movies. We are in a place with the studio where it's kind of like a "What will Marvel Studios do next?" type of mentality. All the twists and turns of Captain America: The Winter Soldier helped get the studio to this point and it was also a driving force behind the huge success of Marvel Studios' most unknown property that became a huge success, Guardians of the Galaxy.
Maybe Ant-Man isn't your cup of tea based on the first teaser trailer, but over 30 million views and downloads of the trailer (so far, per EW) imply that more and more people are looking forward to and are paying attention to what Marvel Studios is doing. That's the definition of anticipation, by the way.
Ant-Man releases on July 17, 2015.