Spider-Man was a major influence for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness has shared how Spider-Man was part of the framework of Quantumania helmed by Peyton Redd.

With the promotion for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at the pinnacle of its marketing campaign, reviews for the Marvel Studios film have been up following the embargo that dropped. Screenwriter Jeff Loveness has revealed that Spider-Man was this movie’s core influence.

This came from SFX Magazine (H/T: The Direct) as the writer behind Rick and Morty participated in an interview for one of the recent issues of the British sci-fi and fantasy magazine. It is fitting Loveness took inspiration from another insect-themed superhero given the “stakes” that both protectors have to deal with and were thrust upon them in their heads.

Before he went into discussing Spider-Man, Loveness mentioned his other source of inspiration for Quantumania which was 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in terms of those tonal shifts and the catastrophic crap shoot that has set up a great deal at stake as opposed to the personal dilemmas with Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne and Co. On the subject of Spider-Man Loveness stated:

"“I was watching [Fellowship of the Ring] the other day and was struck by how quickly the tone shifts from being light-hearted and comedic to intense apocalyptic stakes. Sometimes we like to peg movies down, so they can only be one thing. But that’s the charm of old adventure movies for me. And that was the joy of Marvel comics as a kid.”“Spider-Man does that better than anyone. He has such personal problems and such horrible things happening to him, but the basic drumbeat is always upbeat and funny and the character’s charming, so you kind of stumble along with him. I used that as a blueprint, to try to embody those Marvel comics I loved as a kid, which were able to balance both.”"

What is interesting about the creative team using Spidey and LOTR as sources of inspiration for Quantumania, especially with Lang is that compared to his predecessor Hank Pym he was always the underdog. In terms of scale, the third installment of Ant-Man can be like Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Lang has a similar progression in story thematically to the MCU’s Peter Parker throughout the Homecoming saga. In contrast, Tom Holland’s Parker is a high school student and genius who aspired to be an Avenger to an independent and more experienced Web-Head, whereas Lang is a skilled thief/engineer who became a member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and eventually a celebrity.

So what do you think of Spider-Man as one of the influences for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!