Buena Vista(NEW YORK) — Ant-Man hits theaters Friday. The latest Marvel movie stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an engineer-turned cat burglar who takes up the mantle of the titular comic hero from its originator, the scientist who created a groundbreaking size-shifting technology. Michael Douglas plays Dr. Hank Pym, who recruits Lang to help stop Pym’s former protege, who wants to sell the technology to the highest bidder.
Rudd, who also co-wrote the script, is best known for his comedic work, but he told ABC Radio he didn’t feel as much pressure as one would guess about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and eventually, the Avengers. “There’s only so much that you can take on that’s going to serve you any good,” he explained. “I just focus on the story, what it is that we need to accomplish, what it is that I need to accomplish, or try and do to sell the performance and the part. And the rest of the stuff is extra, you can’t let it weigh you down.”
In addition to the ability to shrink down to insect size and back again, Pym’s special suit gives its wearer the power to control ants, which means Lang has an army of allies — and Rudd had millions of six-legged co-stars. Even though they were computer generated, they gave him a new respect for the picnic killers, Rudd tells ABC News.
“I have a completely different relationship to them. It’s not that I was on a giant ant killing spree before the thing happened, but like if I had an infestation in my house, it’s like, ‘Alright I gotta get an ant trap.’ It’s like now I would never get an ant trap. ‘No, it’s like this is as much your place as it is mine. In fact, you could probably do a better job with it than I will, so off you go. You, I’ll stay out of your way.'”
Rudd’s Ant-Man will be seen alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, and most of rest of the Avengers in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Ant-Man also stars Michael Pena, Evangeline Lilly, Hayley Atwell, and John Slattery.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
