Michael Douglas Wanted a Grandiose Death in ‘Quantumania’: “I Want to Utilize All Those Effects”

Michael Douglas is a prominent figure in the MCU, known for his portrayal of Hank Pym, one of Marvel’s memorable Ant-Men. He has appeared in three ‘Ant-Man’ movies and made a brief appearance in ‘Endgame.’

However, Douglas has expressed a desire for his character’s demise for some time now. During an appearance on ‘The View’ to promote his new Apple TV+ historical drama series ‘Franklin,’ he disclosed that he wanted his character to die in the third installment, primarily to explore the potential of special effects.

[Getting killed off] actually was my request for the third one. I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects. There’s got to be some fantastic way where I can shrink to an ant size and explode, whatever it is. I want to use all those effects. But, that was on the last one. Now, I don’t think I’m going to show up [for a fourth].

His recent comments hold more truth than fans might realize. ‘Quantumania’ could have served as a fitting farewell for the character, potentially improving the movie’s reception, which fell short with audiences. The film marked the beginning of a series of 2023 disappointments for Marvel Studios, barely breaking even at the box office.

It’s not that the characters lacked appeal; both ‘Ant-Man’ movies were well-received critically and commercially, despite Ant-Man being relatively unknown to mainstream audiences. The issue lies in superhero fatigue and subpar writing. Recent rumors suggest that both ‘Ant-Man 4’ and ‘Captain Marvel 3’ may have been scrapped as the studio focuses on projects with guaranteed success, indicating that Ant-Man may no longer generate significant box-office returns or positive reviews.

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