As the Marvel Studios sequelAnt-Man and the Waspcontinues filming in Atlanta, a new batch of set photos have hit the interwebs. This time around, however, we get our first look at a brand new character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Janet Van Dyne.Michelle Pfeifferfills the role of Dr. Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) long lost wife, who disappeared in the Quantum Realm years ago while on a mission with Hank. The current thinking is that the plot ofAnt-Man and the Waspwill at least in some part revolve around the search and rescue of Janet.
Given both Pfeiffer and Douglas’s hairstyles in these images, it looks as though they were shooting a flashback sequence. We’ve seen in the originalAnt-Man,Captain America: Civil War, andGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2that Marvel Studios likes to flaunt cutting edge visual effects technology to de-age famous actors, and no doubt that’s what they’ll be doing here.
In comics lore, Janet Van Dyne donned her own suit as The Wasp, which her daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) will be wearing in this sequel.Peyton Reedreturns to direct from a script byGabriel Ferrari&Andrew Barrer(Ant-Man),Chris McKenna&Erik Sommers(Spider-Man: Homecoming), and star/Ant-Manco-writerPaul Rudd.
When it came to casting Janet Van Dyne, Marvel Studios headKevin Feigetold us this summerthat Pfeiffer was always their first choice for the role. They even discussed the prospect on the firstAnt-Man:
“On the first film, we would talk about if we got to make another one showing Janet and having somebody ‘like Michelle Pfeiffer’. There’s a photo you see at the end of the firstAnt-Manfilm where Hank Pym realizes Scott Lang was in the Quantum Realm, came back, and the wheels start turning could Hank go down there and find her? And he looks over at a photo and you see a young Hank, young Hope, and a young Janet whose face is covered by a hat. We used to say, ‘We have to cast somebody like Michelle Pfeiffer, wouldn’t that be great?’ And then we hit upon the brilliant idea toaskMichelle Pfeiffer. And we had a number of meetings and Peyton Reed pitched her the story, and very, very,veryrecently she said yes.”
Check out the set photos below, followed by that full interview with Feige about Pfeiffer’s casting.Ant-Man and the Waspalso starsHannah John-Kamen,Laurence Fishburne,Walton Goggins, andRandall Parkto look forward to, as well as the return ofMichael Peña,Judy Greer,Bobby Cannavale,Tip “T.I.” Harris, andDavid Dastmalchian.Ant-Man and the Wasphits theaters on July 10, 2025.
Here’s the official synopsis forAnt-Man and the Wasp:
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink: “Ant-Man and The Wasp.” In the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War,” Scott Lang (Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past.
