Peyton Reed says there were ‘no versions’ of Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with Michael Pena

Director Peyton Reed made it clear that leaving Michael Peña out of Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. 

The 58-year-old director, who has helmed all three of the Ant-Man standalone films, said there were ‘no versions’ of the film with Peña’s character Luis in it. 

‘We obviously have our Lang, van Dyne and Pym family, but then we also introduced Kang, MODOK and all of our Freedom Fighter characters,’ he said in an interview with Insider. ‘So we had to make decisions early on about what stories we could tell and what stories we couldn’t tell.’

He continued on by saying that he loves Peña’s character as well as his fellow thieves Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (T.I.) who support Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, but he saw no way to incorporate them into the film. 

Peña played Luis in the first two Ant-Man films, serving as both friend to Lang and comic relief at times for the audience. 

Dastmalchian said that he would not be in the movie early last year saying, ‘It doesn’t look like it… But that’s okay. I know they’re making something incredible. I can’t wait to see what Peyton does next.’ 

However, that stance was later changed and Dastmalchian did appear in the film though as a character named Zeb. 

Corey Stoll, who played the villain Yellowjacket in the first Ant-Man movie also came back for the film though he too was playing a new character. 

T.I., meanwhile, was dropped from Marvel studios in 2021 after abuse allegations were leveled against the actor and rapper. 

While not in this particular movie, Peña has a new project coming out soon titled A Million Miles Away. 

The movie, which is currently in production according to IMDb, is a drama which follows, ‘Jose Hernandez, the first migrant farmworker to travel to space.’ 

A Million Miles Away is being directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella who directed the movie The Good Girls and a couple episodes of Narcos: Mexico. 

Maze Runner: The Death Cure actress Rose Salazar, Never Have I Ever actress Sarayu Blue and Raising Hope’s Garret Dillahunt are set to star in the film. 

‘No versions’: The 58-year-old director, who has helmed all three of the Ant-Man standalone films, said there were ‘no versions’ of the film with Peña’s character Luis in it (pictured February 2, 2023)

 So many characters: ‘We obviously have our Lang, van Dyne and Pym family, but then we also introduced Kang, MODOK and all of our Freedom Fighter characters,’ he said in an interview with Insider

Couldn’t incorporate: He continued on by saying that he loves Peña’s character as well as his fellow thieves Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (T.I.) who support Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, but he saw no way to incorporate them into the film (L to R: T.I., Peña and Dastmalchian)

New movie coming out: While not in this particular movie, Peña has a new project coming out soon titled A Million Miles Away (pictured 2020)

Working together: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Lang and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne as they journey through the microscopic Quantum Realm (pictured in Ant-Man and the Wasp) 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania follows Lang and Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne as they journey through the microscopic Quantum Realm. 

Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper and legendary comic actor Bill Murray are just a few of the star set to appear in the film. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set for wide release on Friday, February 17.