Ant-Man And The Wasp Is 'Not A Romantic Comedy', Director Says

Hope you like seeing Paul Rudd get punched in the jaw again.

After years of Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange-Man, the 20th(!) entry in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe will finally have a woman's name emblazoned in the title, with Evangeline Lilly's Wasp suiting up to fight and get top billing in Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Though she's sharing the marquee space with Ant-Man, director Peyton Reed has been making it clear all year that the winged heroine will be taking just as much of a lead role in the action as her partner. 

Now the director has clarified things even further, saying that viewers shouldn't go into the movie expecting any kind of a romantic angle between the leads. Ant-Man and the Wasp are partners, sure — but they ain't dating.

Reed gave up the info during a talk with Comic Book Movie, reaffirming how important it was for him that Wasp take on the lead role in the Ant-Man sequel.

"It was important to me, in this movie called Ant-Man and the Wasp, that she's not a supporting character," Reed said, "She's a lead character. She's become a fully-formed hero." 

Reed went on to say that he feels "a certain responsibility with the Wasp", considering that she's one of the original woman heroes from Marvel Comics, and has managed to endure in the popular consciousness to this day. 

Part of that responsibility he felt involved showing the world that the Wasp is first a fighter — not a lover. 

"It's not a romantic comedy," Reed promised. Indeed, if Hope's flirty partner gets such an arrangement in his mind (or otherwise fouls up during the workday), the thought might cross her mind to just give the guy the boot and go solo. As Reed added, "The idea might enter Hope's brain: Does she need Scott Lang in her life?" 

As interesting as it is to see a woman character finally get to take the lead role in one of these Marvel movies, Ant-Man and the Wasp is also exciting for longtime comic book fans for the fact that it finally lets another one of the actual founding members of the Avengers get both her name onto a movie and some major time on screen. 

Technically, two of the founding members of the Avengers were original Ant-Man Hank Pym and original Wasp Janet Van Dyne, previously seen suited-up in flashback in 2015's Ant-Man. With this in mind, the  character's arrival on screen has already sort of happened, with audiences seeing a brief glimpse of the Wasp in action during the moments just before she sacrificed herself into the Quantum Realm. 

This time, though, we're going to get to see her daughter suit up and punch people for the length of a whole movie — and that's a lot more exciting. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp will be out this summer on July 6. Check out the trailer for the two-hander action movie now.