Paul Rudd Breaks Silence On Ant-Man’s Return in Avengers: Doomsday

Though Marvel star Paul Rudd can now confirm he returns as Ant-Man in Avengers: Doomsday, he’s doing his part to keep the film’s secrets intact. Shortly after Marvel unveiled the stacked Doomsday cast during a special livestream event, Rudd was a guest on The Tonight Show, where he was asked about what directors Joe and Anthony Russo have in store this time around. After making some jokes about the smaller chair with his name on it, Rudd made it clear he couldn’t provide any juice plot details — injecting some topical humor into his response.

“There is nothing that I can tell you. They are very secretive,” Rudd said. “It’s really — it’s important. Clearly, as we know, they never announce anything. This is, you know, it’s a major movie. You can’t be frivolous with this kind of stuff. It’s nothing like, you know, military secrets or anything.”

Rudd was one of 27 actors confirmed to be in Avengers: Doomsday in a livestream commemorating the start of production. The event was a massive success for Marvel, becoming the studio’s most-watched livestream. Running for more than five hours, the Doomsday reveal dominated social media as fans watched and speculated who could be the next name revealed on one of the chairs.

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Prior to Doomsday, Rudd’s lone appearance in the Multiverse Saga had been 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Earning mixed reviews and struggling at the box office, that film attempted to establish Kang the Conqueror as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big bad. However, after actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment, Marvel pivoted away from the Kang storyline and positioned Doctor Doom to be the franchise’s big bad moving forward.

Though Scott Lang’s history with Kang shouldn’t come into play now (though, Marvel will probably have to address Kang’s absence in some way), it isn’t a surprise to see Rudd is back in the fold for Doomsday. Part of Sam Wilson’s arc in the MCU is reassembling the Avengers, and Ant-Man is a familiar face he knows is trustworthy. It remains to be seen who is on the new Avengers roster, but Scott seems like a logical addition. He’s been a superhero for a while now, doing everything from participating in the Time Heist to dealing with Kang during his adventures. He doesn’t seem fazed by universe-shattering threats, so it’ll be interesting to see how he factors into the fight against Doctor Doom.

While Quantumania was a mixed bag, Rudd’s Ant-Man is still a fan favorite thanks to the actor’s natural charm and charisma. It will be fun to see Rudd play off some of the other big names in the Doomsday cast, providing moments of levity in what will likely be a mostly serious, dramatic story. With the tease that Marvel Studios is planning to reveal even more Doomsday cast members in the near future, perhaps Rudd won’t be the only player from the Ant-Man franchise involved. If Scott’s part of the story, it would be strange if Evangeline Lilly didn’t return as Hope van Dyne, and Scott’s daughter Cassie is also part of the action as Stature.