Washington DC [US], October 20 (ANI): Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has revealed that he wanted his Marvel Cinematic Universe character, Hank Pym, to be killed off after the second ‘Ant-Man’ film, but the studio did not allow him to exit the franchise, according to People.
During an appearance on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, Douglas, 82, spoke to host Josh Horowitz about his experience in the superhero franchise and confirmed that he wanted his character to be written out earlier.
“I would have been killed off after the second one, but they wouldn’t let me,” Douglas said jokingly.
Douglas portrayed Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, in Marvel's 2015 film ‘Ant-Man’, which introduced Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, Pym's daughter. He reprised the role in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ (2018) and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ (2023). He also made a cameo appearance in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019).
Reflecting on how he entered the superhero franchise, Douglas said that after overcoming cancer in 2011 and working on the HBO biographical film ‘Behind the Candelabra’, he wanted to explore projects that were different from his previous work.
He initially turned towards comedy, which led to his role in Netflix's ‘The Kominsky Method’, created by Chuck Lorre and co-starring Alan Arkin. Later, he became interested in working on a film that relied on green-screen technology.
“I told all my agents, ‘I’d like to do one of these green screen movies to see what they’re like,’ you know? Because it’s amazing,” the two-time Oscar winner said.
“It’s nothing, just a green screen and they show you the pictures of what it’s gonna look like when it’s all finished,” he added.
However, Douglas admitted that the experience was more challenging than he had expected, while also discovering how difficult it could be to leave a major franchise once an actor had committed to it.
“We did Ant-Man and Paul Rudd was a wonderful actor, a lovely group, but then you can’t get out of it,” Douglas said.
He also jokingly agreed with Horowitz that he should have read the fine print before signing up for the films. People reported that it had reached out to Marvel Studios for comment.
In recent years, Douglas has become more selective about his acting assignments, focusing increasingly on spending time with his family. His last starring role was as Benjamin Franklin in an Apple TV+ miniseries released in 2024, although he has since filmed a small part in Oliver Stone's upcoming film ‘White Lies’.
Speaking to People, Douglas said his priorities had shifted over time.
“I haven’t slowed down but I spend my time very differently now. I’ve traded the adventures for making movies for adventures with my family,” he said.
“For the past few years, I’ve made sure to plan at least one big family trip every year,” he added.
Douglas also spoke fondly of his wife, actor Catherine Zeta-Jones, describing their approach to family travel.
“She has declared [him] the world’s best travel agent, and she is the momarazzi, recording every last detail for posterity,” he said, according to People.
Douglas' memoir, ‘One Helluva Ride’, is also available to readers. (ANI)
Michael Douglas Wanted His ‘Ant-Man’ character killed off, says Marvel “wouldn’t let” him quit
