What Hope Is Struggling With In Ant-Man And The Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp

While most of us are still reeling from the events of Avengers: Infinity War, there's another Marvel movie in less than two months. Now, the film's director gives us a peek into the head of one of the title characters. Specifically, Hope Van Dyne, who will take her place alongside Ant-Man as the Wasp for the first time in the new film. However, just because she's the "new" hero doesn't mean that she will be anything less than confident in her own abilities, it's her partner that she's worried about. According to Peyton Reed...

Well, the movie is absolutely about Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, and Hope becoming Wasp... and their relationship is a little fractured... I think for Hope particularly, the question is out there: 'Do I need this guy in my life? I'm a fully formed hero in my own right, do I need a partner?' That was really a fun kind of premise to start from.

A sequel that sees a hero saddled with a partner they're not sure about is far from uncommon in film, but usually, it's not the new partner who wants to dump the old guy, it's the other way around. However, while Hope Van Dyne has never been the hero before, it's a role that even in the first film it was clear she'd been training for. She's more ready to be the hero than Scott Lang ever was, which, apparently, leads her to wonder if she really needs him once she becomes the Wasp.

Peyton Reed tells ComicBook.com that the relationship between Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne will have slowed down and seen some distance grow from where Ant-Man left them, which is likely part of why Hope isn't so sure about Scott. Her questions extend beyond his ability to be a hero, she's not her she needs him in her life.

From what we've seen in the trailers, Scott Lang will continue to be a bit of a reluctant hero. While he has certainly built up some skills, he's not completely the best at using them, while the trailers have shown us that the Wasp is going to kick all of the ass and take all of the names.

This sounds great, if only because it puts an interesting and fresh twist on what would otherwise be a fairly standard set up for a sequel. We can likely be fairly confident how things will turn out for our two title characters. Ant-Man and the Wasp is unlikely to be that original in its storytelling. Still, watching to see how the relationship resolves itself should be fun if the sequel is as good as the underrated original.

Ant-Man and the Wasp will be your Marvel Cinematic Universe palate cleanser before things get serious again when it arrives on July 6.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.