Paul Rudd admits the "ego blow" of being left out of Avengers: Infinity War
The Ant-Man star was snubbed from Marvel’s biggest team-up movie – but he says he can understand why
One of the biggest mysteries fans were left with after Avengers: Infinity War (apart from whether Spider-Man watched Doctor Who) was the location of Paul Rudd’s shrinking hero Ant-Man/Scott Lang, who was one of the few Marvel heroes left out of the team-up smash hit alongside his co-star Evangeline Lilly (aka The Wasp) and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.
In the film, it was revealed that Scott’s absence was due to his house arrest after 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, while Marvel’s new film Ant-Man and the Wasp goes into some more detail about Scott’s adventures during this period.
However, Rudd still admits that he was still a bit disappointed to be left on the bench.
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“It did feel a little bit like there was a party going on and I didn't get an invitation,” Rudd told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive video interview.
“So there was a bit of an ego blow – but not too bad. Because I knew this was coming up, and knew there was a reason why. So, knowing that, I was alright.”
“When I saw it – I mean I love the movie,” he added. “They mention me, so I was like, 'OK, they haven't completely forgotten about me.'”
On the plus side, Rudd did at least know fairly early on that he wouldn’t be part of Infinity War, meaning there were no embarrassing last-minute phone calls checking when they wanted him on set.
In fact, Rudd’s status as one of Ant-Man and the Wasp’s writers meant that he actually knew a lot more about Infinity War’s plot that most of the film's stars, which is a pretty good consolation prize.
“I knew for a while,” he said. “I kind of knew some things about [Infinity War] too, because of working on this one and also working on the script. I was trusted to know a little bit.
“I'm good at keeping secrets,” he continued, adding “except there is this one thing…” before pretending to be shot by poison darts.
Rudd did in fact end up being credited in the film despite not appearing, leading many to wonder ahead of its release whether he’d have a small appearance after all.
As it turned out, that wasn’t the case – though it did make the actor wonder…
“Somebody told me that. I didn't realise that,” he said. “That makes me think maybe I was there, you didn't see me. I must just be really small.”
Looking forward, Rudd is expected to get his chance to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest story in Avengers 4 – though of course, he's remaining tight-lipped about what we might expect from Ant-Man in the final battle against Thanos.
“I don't think I can answer any questions about any of this stuff, because we all know what happens,” he said. “The poisonous darts come out of nowhere right into the neck, and I collapse.”
For our part, we just hope he gets an invitation to the party this time around. Surely the Avengers can find room for a little one?
Ant-Man and the Wasp is released in UK cinemas on 2nd August
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
