Michael Douglas says Marvel wouldn't let him exit Ant-Man franchise after second film

Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has revealed that he wanted his Marvel Cinematic Universe character Hank Pym to be killed off after the second AntMan film but the studio did not allow him to exit the franchise according to PeopleDuring an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast Douglas 82 spoke to host Josh Horowitz about his experience in the superhero franchise and confirmed that he wanted his character to be written out earlierI would have been killed off after the second one but they wouldnt let me Douglas said jokinglyDouglas portrayed Hank Pym the original AntMan in Marvels 2015 film AntMan which introduced Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne Pyms daughter He reprised the role in AntMan and the Wasp 2018 and AntMan and the Wasp Quantumania 2023 He also made a cameo appearance in Avengers Endgame 2019Reflecting on how he entered the superhero franchise Douglas said that after overcoming cancer in 2011 and working on the HBO biographical film Behind the Candelabra he wanted to explore projects that were different from his previous workHe initially turned towards comedy which led to his role in Netflixs The Kominsky Method created by Chuck Lorre and costarring Alan Arkin Later he became interested in working on a film that relied on greenscreen technologyI told all my agents Id like to do one of these green screen movies to see what theyre like you know Because its amazing the twotime Oscar winner saidIts nothing just a green screen and they show you the pictures of what its gonna look like when its all finished he addedHowever Douglas admitted that the experience was more challenging than he had expected while also discovering how difficult it could be to leave a major franchise once an actor had committed to itWe did AntMan and Paul Rudd was a wonderful actor a lovely group but then you cant get out of it Douglas saidHe also jokingly agreed with Horowitz that he should have read the fine print before signing up for the films People reported that it had reached out to Marvel Studios for commentIn recent years Douglas has become more selective about his acting assignments focusing increasingly on spending time with his family His last starring role was as Benjamin Franklin in an Apple TV plus miniseries released in 2024 although he has since filmed a small part in Oliver Stones upcoming film White LiesSpeaking to People Douglas said his priorities had shifted over timeI havent slowed down but I spend my time very differently now Ive traded the adventures for making movies for adventures with my family he saidFor the past few years Ive made sure to plan at least one big family trip every year he addedDouglas also spoke fondly of his wife actor Catherine ZetaJones describing their approach to family travelShe has declared him the worlds best travel agent and she is the momarazzi recording every last detail for posterity he said according to PeopleDouglas memoir One Helluva Ride is also available to readersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever