Ant-Man has proven quite a few key points about Marvel and the Marvel cinematic universe overall.
First, Marvel proved that they do not necessarily need to make a movie about one of the Avengers in order to create a box-office hit.
According to Box Office Mojo , the movie has generated over $226.4 million at the box-office worldwide so far.
“Ant-Man” Crosses $100 Million In U.S. Box Office, Remains #1 Over “Pixels” http://t.co/BeFw1NJHCR pic.twitter.com/BnPIajeQib
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) July 26, 2015
Chances are that its commercial success will continue for the next couple of weeks – or at least until Fantastic Four finally arrives into theaters early next month. Most importantly, Ant-Man showed fans exactly why another Spider-man reboot could actually become a very good thing for movie fans, critics and studios.
Why? One word – crossovers.
Now that Spider-Man is back in the Marvel cinematic universe where he belongs, the people put in charge of future Marvel movies can very easily toss the iconic web-slinger into the mix without a second thought.
Even though this now-available option might seem insignificant, Ant-Man gave Marvel movie fans a delicious taste of the future.
*Warning: Spoiler Ahead*
Shortly after Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man) gets the hang of his new suit and available powers, he finds himself fully engaged in an intense fight with one of the Avengers, Falcon, on their home turf. Seeing the two of them interacting on-screen likely sent chills up the spine of moviegoers and caused goosebumps to emerge on their skin.
Looking at the big picture of the overall film, the fight scene between Falcon and Ant-Man was essentially just a drop in the bucket. However, that single drop could easily create a ripple effect of opportunities for future Marvel movies.
Writers for Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man’ are Officially Confirmed http://t.co/EohsZNJMnA pic.twitter.com/1UMBbL53B9
— Heroic Hollywood (@heroichollywood) July 26, 2015
Spider-Man joins the Avengers . Aunt May talks about the good ol’ days with Captain America. Tony Stark decides to buy the Daily Bugle because he is sick of hearing Jonah Jameson’s mouth all of the time.
Venom fights the Hulk. Carnage teams up with Thanos to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy. The possible opportunities are seemingly endless!
By rebooting Spider-Man again, Marvel is getting a chance that it has never had before – bringing Spidey into a fully-developed cinematic universe that has progressed by leaps and bounds since Tobey Maguire first played Peter Parker himself.
Whether you loved or hated Ant-Man really does not matter very much in the grand scheme of things. Why not? Years from now, when movie fans and critics see the many different directions in which Marvel would have expanded its cinematic universe, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is going to seem more like a superhero than ever before.
[Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]