About That New “Ant-Man and the Wasp” Trailer...

I never understood why people dogged on 2015’s “Ant-Man.”

While it might not have been the most layered film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was fun — made possible by Paul Rudd’s self-effacing charm. 

In my mind, “Ant-Man” is the most underrated film in the MCU. 

On the heels of April’s terrific “Avengers: Infinity War” (read my review), Marvel Studios has dropped the new trailer for July’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”

It looks like petty thief Scott Lang (Rudd), scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and the snarky Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) haven’t missed a beat. 

A “crazy, trippy ghost who like walks through walls and stuff” has stolen Pym’s tech (described in rapid-fire fashion by Michael Peña’s character Luis).

You can’t tell from the trailer exactly where the plot is going in “Ant Man and the Wasp,” but fans will get to meet Dr. Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) who — according to comics lore —was a former Pym associate who assumed the Goliath and Giant Man identities. 

We saw Ant-Man get "giant" in "Captain America: Civil War," so it's possible he is taking on the mantle.

With so many things in limbo after “Avengers: Infinity War,” it will be interesting to see where Ant-Man fits into things (I’m going with the assumption that “Ant-Man and the Wasp” takes place before “Infinity War”). 

In fact, Ant-Man’s status was pondered by the cast of “Infinity War” in this video that appeared on Marvel’s social media channels this week:

Wherever the MCU road map takes us from here, it is nice to have the unassuming Ant-Man back. I think “Ant-Man and the Wasp” will benefit from the back-and-forth between Rudd and Evangeline Lilly (who was wonderful in the series “Lost”) as their alter-egos battle the bad guys. See you on July 6th:

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