Marvel continues to bring us fun and adventure with their films. Being familiar with their comics is not necessary to experience the Marvel universe. It’s no different for their newest project, Ant-Man. This time, Marvel surprises with a comedic ensemble and the special bond between father and daughter. Entertainment Affair was at Disney Studios where the filmmakers talked about creating a film never seen inside the Marvel universe. Producer Kevin Feige expressed that making the film now was very meaningful. “We’ve never had a hero in any of the eleven films leading up to this whose motivation involved a child or involved a son or a daughter.”

Director Peyton Reed told us that one of the things about Marvel that he loves is that ‘creative hunger and they don’t really want to repeat themselves’. He said, “One of the things that I loved from the beginning and it is very different than the other Marvel movies in that way is that one of the strengths of the movie I think is these dual stories about these two fathers and their daughters and in various different ways they are not a part of their daughters lives and they have to by the end of the movie repair those relationships. And in the case of Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne, they’re not gonna succeed in this heist unless they repair that relationship. It’s an important thing that has to happen before they succeed. And I liked sort of the intimacy of that schematic in the movie.”

Ant-Man being the twelfth film in the marvel cinematic universe, Feige felt it was “time to do something even more unique and even more different, which I think these people had,” a unique ensemble that transcends emotion and comedy through the big screen. Paul Rudd, who stars as Scott Lang/Ant-Man confessed, “I enjoyed the fact that when I was cast people went, ‘huh, really?’ You wouldn’t necessarily think that. In creating not just a fun environment, but also a relatable one, he said, “You could have a movie that has amazing effects, and this certainly has that, and brilliant visuals, a lot of action, humor. Whenever you see something that you can connect to, that’s emotionally resonant it stays with you in a very different way. I think that’s the key to any movie, and that’s what I thought about throughout this whole film. This is what the movie is all about.”

While the film is emotionally resonant, the comedic element is strong enough to maintain the film fun and entertaining from beginning to end. David Dastmalchian, who plays Kurt, admitted joining a group of talented comedians was quite terrifying. “As long as I didn’t break, that became my biggest challenge ‘cause these guys are so funny.” T.I., who plays Dave, added, "Paul is an incredible leader… Payton really, really set an awesome environment for us to be creative and just do what we felt was right for the scenes.” Michael Peña, who plays Luis, told us his character was ‘actually based on a real character’. Also joining the cast is Bobby Cannavale’s as the stepfather to Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), Lang’s daughter. “I thought that was really cool that there was also the stepfather and the daughter relationship,” expressed Evangeline Lily. 

Ant-Man’s suit was a practical one and as Rudd describes, pretty comfortable. That wasn’t the case for the villain of this story, Yellowjacket. “We tried to make it a practical suit. We went through several iterations but it was just not working so in the end it was completely CGI,” said Corey Stoll. When he’s not the CGI villain, he’s Darren Cross, a man whose rage began as pain. “Darren is after the glory of the scientific discovery and the money and the fame and the power. But in the end, it really comes down to the sort of small little boy inside that just wants his father’s approval.” His eagerness to find approval from Hank Pym, the man who started it all, is the evil element.

On playing Hank Pym, a very relatable and human character, Michael Douglas commented, “I think there is this echo certainly of the loss of his wife and the distance between he and his studying daughter.” Rudd added, “I also think there’s an interesting father-son dynamic with Darren and Hank. So this whole idea of parents and children runs throughout the movie. I think makes it one of the most relatable.”

Scott Lang isn’t the only hero of this story. Hank’s daughter Hope Van Dyne, played by Evangeline Lily, is a strong female character who helps train Lang into becoming Ant-Man. “My super-suit was my power-suit that I would go to work in and be a high level scientist and on the chair of the board of a very, very powerful corporation and I do think that’s a fantastic example for young women.” Her power-suit however, will probably change for the sequel. Producer Kevin Feige confirmed, “We have plans for her over in the future.”

When it comes to superpowers, Ant-Man has not only the ability to shrink, but also the ability to control with his mind. Director Peyton Reed explained, “People talk about the shrinking when they talk about Ant-Man. But it’s the other power, the being able to control ants that’s the weirder power that I think is gonna really surprise people in the movie.” The research on what different ants can do and how they look is carefully incorporated into the film. “One of the things I love about Ant-Man is that it’s a pretty weird movie in a great way!”

Catch Marvel's Ant-Man in theaters July 17!