The first Ant-Man trailer dropped last night during the final commercial break of Marvel’s Agent Carter premiere on ABC. Though Marvel calls the first publicly released footage from final Phase 2 film a “teaser trailer,” it runs two minutes in length and might as well be a standard theatrical trailer.
A high-level view for the uninitiated introduces Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a father to a young daughter who finds himself on the wrong end of the law. For reasons yet to be revealed, Lang is taken in by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and asked to take over the mantle of the superhero “Ant-Man.”
This first Ant-Man trailer introduces as many questions as anything it reveals. Why did Pym take in Lang? Is the suit solely responsible for Ant-Man’s ability to change size and communicate with insects? If Pym was previously Ant-Man then why didn’t he contact The Avengers and offer his help? If Pym kept his diminutive superhero a secret, why? Will Evangeline Lilly, portraying Janet van Dyne in the film, become the superhero Wasp by the closing credits?
What this Ant-Man trailer didn’t reveal is Yellow Jacket, the film’s presumed main antagonist, though we do get to see actor Corey Stoll outside of the villainous outfit.
Reactions to the Ant-Man trailer have been mixed thus far. Most of the action beats are still being kept under wraps so aside from Lang shrinking down once and riding an ant a couple times, there isn’t much to look at. We do at least get a glimpse into Lang’s sarcasm as the trailer closes with him questioning the superhero’s name, as I’m sure most non-comic book reading Marvel movie fans are doing as well.
Ant-Man is directed by Peyton Reed and arrives in theaters on July 17. Watch the first Ant-Man trailer in full below, followed by the first Ant-Man poster.