Ant-Man and The Wasp Stars Aren't Happy About Delayed International Release

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Ant-Man and The Wasp Stars Aren't Happy About Delayed Overseas Release

By Tom Chapman

Published Jun 13, 2018

Evangeline Lilly and Paul Rudd are perplexed by the decision to delay Ant-Man and The Wasp's UK release for the 2018 World Cup.

The stars of Marvel's Ant-Man and The Wasp aren't particularly pleased with the film's delayed international release. Arriving in the wake of Avengers: Infinity War, the 20th Marvel Cinematic Universe movie will open July 6 in North America, nearly a month before it debuts in overseas markets like the United Kingdom.

At one time the United States was accustomed to getting all the major films early, while the U.K. could sometimes lag months behind. But nowadays, there's hardly a gap at all; on occasion, European markets even receive movies first. That makes Ant-Man and The Wasp's delay far more noticeable. Instead of production rights or a distribution problem, it is reportedly the World Cup that means British fans of Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne will have to wait that little bit longer.

After Ant-Man and The Wasp sat out the events of Infinity War, some audiences are lost in their own Quantum Zone of limbo as they wait for the sequel. Discussing the delay with Empire Magazine (via Comic Book Movie), Evangeline Lilly said, "They always do that" before pointing out how the delay could impact Ant-Man and The Wasp. "Then what happens is people just pirate the movie and they see it in the worst way possible, like some shitty version online, instead of going to a theater?" Lilly continued, "They go in the end, but I don't like that staggering. I'm really going to get to the bottom of this for you. I'm as pissed off about it as you are."

At least Lilly shares the frustration of fans in the U.K. who will have to avoid the internet and potential spoilers for a full month. Lilly's sentiments were echoed by co-star Paul Rudd, who joked, "I don't understand. Let me see if we can maybe get the World Cup moved."

The World Cup kicks off in Russia on June 14 and runs through July 15. While the MCU could've pushed Ant-Man and The Wasp back just a few weeks, it will instead hit theaters a full 28 days after the United States. The sporting event has also caused havoc for Brad Bird's Incredibles 2, which is also delayed by a month in the U.K. Despite Rudd's wishes, it seems that even the might of the MCU can't stop fans of the pint-sized pair having to wait until Aug. 3 to find out if the superhero sequel can match up to 2015's original.

Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park and Walton Goggins. The film arrives in North American theaters on July 6.