Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania leading man and Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran Paul Rudd has explained why a scene where he was shirtless wasn't kept in the first Ant-Man movie.
Rudd, who worked out for months to play the eponymous superhero, brought the scene up in an interview with Men's Health, saying that it was cut from the film. "On one hand, I was annoyed because I put in a year's worth of hard work," he said. "On the other, if I had to look at myself shirtless in a Marvel movie, I would just want to make fun of it in every single way. Ultimately the movie was running long, and the scene wasn't essential." Rudd did still appear shirtless in the final cut of 2015's Ant-Man, albeit for a very brief moment.
In the same interview, Rudd brought up how he never anticipated playing a superhero in the firstplace. The actor recalled how his agent set up a meeting with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the studio itself still being relatively new at the time. "A superhero franchise was never on my radar," Rudd said. "I never really thought I was the type of actor that they would offer any of those parts to. But when this idea came around, I was excited about doing something that was so out of left field, and I knew that if it was announced that I was going to be joining a superhero franchise, most people would say, 'What the fuck?' And I got to wear a superhero suit."
Paul Rudd Returns as Ant-Man in Quantumania
Rudd grew to like playing Scott Lang/Ant-Man in the MCU, having donned the character's helmet and costume for seven years. Delving into why he still loves the role of Scott last year, Rudd remarked that it's fun to play an ordinary person who gets "thrown into these extraordinary circumstances" and appears to be "somewhat conflicted about being a superhero." Rudd concluded by noting that attempting to "play against that" while also being "somewhat relatable" and doing crazy things is a fun challenge.
Shifting over to the topic of Ant-Man's newest cinematic outing, Quantumania, the movie will launch the MCU's Phase Five. Regarding why Ant-Man was picked to be the Avenger who had this honor, Kevin Feige explained, "We always love doing the unexpected with Scott Lang. Ant-Man is arguably the character that is the most underestimated. Ant-Man became the key to saving the universe in Avengers: Endgame. So, carrying that tradition, we thought, 'Well, let's use [Ant-Man 3] to kick off Phase Five.'"
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens in theaters on Feb. 17.
Source: Men's Health