Throughout her long and decorated career, Michelle Pfeiffer has developed a tendency of backing out of a film project at the 11th hour. It’s something the actress fully admits to, and a concern she brought before Peyton Reed prior to climbing aboard Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp.
As part of his exhaustive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which he recalled the moment when he fought to keep Wasp out of Marvel’s Civil War, Reed reflected on the early days of Ant-Man and the Wasp, when Pfeiffer told him the following:
You know. I’m going to tell you up front. My process on every single movie I have ever done in my career, I’ve tried to back out of the movie at the last minute. That’s just my M.O.
Turns out Peyton Reed was prepared for the moment when Michelle Pfeiffer developed a case of cold feet, as the filmmaker went on to reveal his strategy for easing Pfeiffer into the role of Janet Van Dyne (AKA the original Wasp).
Essentially, Reed asked that Michelle Pfeiffer “scour the internet and do all the research” she needs before signing along the dotted line. Janet’s journey began in the ’60s, before she ultimately slipped into the Quantum Realm to avert an ICBM mid-flight. And it’s this tragic arc that informs Ant-Man and the Wasp, after we learned that the MCU sequel is all about Marvel’s titular duo mounting a search party to find Janet before it’s too late. This left Pfeiffer with just a few questions, though.
“Well, OK. If she were alive, she’s been in there for 30 years. How has that affected her? Who is she? Does she want to be rescued? Has she evolved into something else? What is it?”
All in all, Michelle Pfeiffer’s decision to confide in Peyton Reed worked like a charm, as she ultimately agreed to join the superhero tentpole to play the part of Janet Van Dyne. And the rest is history.
On July 6th, Ant-Man and the Wasp makes a beeline for U.S. theaters, before making the journey across the Atlantic in time for August 3rd.
Published: Jul 3, 2018 12:08 pm