Michael Douglas wanted out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after two films, and the studio refused to write his exit, the actor said this week. Douglas, 82, addressed the matter Monday on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. Host Josh Horowitz asked whether reports were true that he had pushed for Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, to be killed off. Douglas answered with a laugh that Marvel “wouldn’t let” him leave. He added that exiting the franchise proves hard once a contract is signed, saying “you can’t get out of it.”
The comments sharpen a timeline Douglas offered earlier. Appearing on “The View” in 2024 to promote the Apple TV+ series “Franklin,” he said he asked for Pym’s death in the third film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and pitched an effects-heavy send-off in which the character shrinks and explodes. Monday’s remarks move the wish up a film, though Douglas delivered them in a joking tone.
Douglas debuted as Pym in 2015’s “Ant-Man” and returned for “Ant-Man and the Wasp” in 2018, “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 and “Quantumania” in 2023. He also voiced alternate-universe versions of the character in the Disney+ animated series “What If…?” Pym survived all of it.
The actor said curiosity drew him to the franchise. After beating cancer in 2011 and making HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra,” he wanted to try something new. He told his agents he had never made a green-screen movie and wanted to see what one was like.
Nothing suggests a return. Marvel has not announced any future role for Douglas, and in 2024 he said he did not expect to appear in a fourth “Ant-Man” film. Last year at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, he said he had not worked since 2022 and had stopped on purpose. Marvel has not publicly responded to the comments.
