Michael Douglas Says Marvel Rejected Hank Pym Exit Request

Michael Douglas says he asked Marvel to have Hank Pym killed off after the second Ant-Man film, but the studio declined, according to remarks the actor made on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. Asked whether he had sought to be killed off in the last Ant-Man film, Douglas said he would have been killed off after the second one, but Marvel would not allow it. His account describes a request made before he continued playing Pym in later Marvel films. The sources do not include a statement from Marvel confirming the request, its decision or the reasons for it. Douglas first played Pym, the scientist associated with the Ant-Man identity, in the 2015 film Ant-Man. He returned in Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018, Avengers: Endgame in 2019 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023. The second Ant-Man film, Ant-Man and the Wasp, was released in 2018. Douglas has previously said he asked Marvel to kill Pym in Quantumania and suggested a special-effects-heavy death. In the podcast account, however, he placed his preference earlier, saying he would have left the role after the second film. His comments indicate that he wanted the character’s story to end before the later...