ENTERTAINMENTMichael Douglas Says He 'Can't Get' Out of the Marvel Universe After Playing Ant-Man: 'They Wouldn't Let Me'
Michael Douglas wants out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the MCU may not be done with him.
Oct. 26 2026, Published 10:05 a.m. ET
Michael Douglas joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a lark, but later discovered that it’s not so easy to get out once you’re in — even if you’re playing Hank Pym, a side character in the movies but a founding Avenger in the comics.
“I would have been killed off after the second one, but they wouldn’t let me,” he revealed in an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast while promoting his memoir, One Helluva Ride. “We did Ant-Man and Paul Rudd was a wonderful actor, a lovely group, but then you can’t get out of it.”
'I'd Like to Do One of Those Green Screen Movies, You Know?'
Michael Douglas mostly took on his Marvel role alongside Paul Rudd out of curiosity.
Douglas appeared in 2015’s Ant-Man, 2018’s Ant-Man & the Wasp, and 2023’s Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, as well as a cameo in Avengers: Endgame. He told the podcast that he originally took the role to see what a special-effects extravaganza would be like.
“I [told] all my agents, ‘I’d like to do one of these green screen movies to see what they’re like,’ you know?’” he reminisced. “Because it’s amazing. It’s nothing, just a green screen and they show you the pictures of what it’s gonna look like when it’s all finished.”
'I Want to Use All Those Effects'
Michael Douglas pitched a spectacular final scene for his MCU character, Hank Pym.
Douglas even had a spectacular death scene in mind.
“[Getting killed off] actually was my request for the third one,” Douglas told the co-hosts on The View in 2024. “I said I’d like to have a serious [death], with all these great special effects. There’s got to be some fantastic way where I can shrink to an ant size and explode, whatever it is. I want to use all those effects.”
- Nicolas Cage Disses 'Ridiculous' Marvel Movies, Says They're 'Becoming a Well-Funded and Glorified WWE'
- War of Words: Chris Hemsworth Reacts to Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese's Criticism
- Jeremy Renner Says 'Avengers: Doomsday' Superheroes 'Will Probably Lose' Without Hawkeye: 'They Didn’t Call Me, So It’s Their Fault'
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
'I Don't Think I'm Going to Show Up'
Michael Douglas may be done with the MCU.
As a result of this disappointment, don’t expect to see Hank Pym’s name in one of the ‘Hank Pym will return in Avengers: Doomsday’ tags. At least, not if Douglas has anything to say about it. “That was on the last one,” he told The View. “Now, I don’t think I’m going to show up [for a fourth].”
Douglas isn’t the only Marvel actor to run headlong into unusual contract trouble. Ever since the earliest days of the MCU, actors have joked about the extreme secrecy surrounding their roles, and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is famous for letting plot twists slip.
'I Was Used as a Pawn'
Michael Douglas isn't the only Marvel actor to have gripes about his contract.
John Leguizamo recently dished that he was pushed aside from the role of the Vulture in favor of Michael Keaton. “I was used as a pawn,” he griped.
Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over the Black Widow solo movie going direct to streaming during COVID, and they ultimately settled. “I look forward to our continuing collaboration in years to come,” she announced.
More recently, Nicolas Cage confessed that he walked away from the role of Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir because Amazon Prime Video relied on AI. “I’m probably not going to be working with the studio again, but that’s okay,” he admitted.
