“I was just going to ask if it was okay”: Bill Murray Had to Ask Ant-Man 3 Star Kathryn Newton Before Joining Marvel Franchise Amidst Rising Disturbing Allegations Against Legendary Actor

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will kick off phase 5, which will see Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne traverse across the Quantum realm. Ant-Man and Wasp will face Kang the Conquerer who will now serve as the new supervillain of the MCU. The film will feature the ensemble as they defeat Kang and find their way back home.

Quantumania is Paul Rudd’s third solo adventure as the size-changing hero Scott Lang, after 2015’s Ant-Man and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp. Director Peyton Reed casts Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, whose parents are played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas.

David Dastmalchian also returns, albeit he may be playing a different character than in the first two Ant-Man features. Kathryn Newton, star of Big Little Lies and Three Billboards Outside Edinburgh Missouri, plays Lang’s daughter Cassie.

Bill Murray joined the cast of Ant-Man 3 after consulting Kathryn Newton

Kathryn Newton shared a couple of anecdotes from the shooting and casting of Quantumania one of the most impressive ones was about Bill Murray. She got a call from him after the two played Golf on TV at the Pebble Beach golf course in California. She said,

“A couple months later my mom’s like, ‘Kathryn, I have Bill Murray for you.’ I’m like, what? Bill Murray? She’s like, ‘Yeah, um here.’ And he’s like, ‘Kathryn, I’ve been thinking, I think I want to join the Marvel Universe and I was just going to ask you if it was okay if I joined ‘Ant-Man’.”

She continued,

“I was like ‘Yeah, Bill, that’s cool, that’s cool with me. Maybe there’s someone else to talk to?’ But I think he had an offer and he was just calling to be like, ‘Are we going to play golf together?'”

Newton was shocked and startled by this, she concluded that maybe Murray asked her for advice so that they can play golf together after the shoot. The veteran actor joined the film and is now officially a part of the cast.

“Michael Douglas golfs as well. We didn’t get to golf though because London, you know, it was rainy and it turns out Marvel movies are very intense. And I didn’t want to golf,”

However, the Pokémon actress revealed later that they could not play golf due to a hectic schedule and dull weather.

Also Read: “I’m going there”: Ant-Man 3 Star Jonathan Majors Claims His Kang the Conqueror Role Will Rival Academy Award Winners Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis

Bill Murray plays a crucial role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 

Murray had a brief appearance in the film’s first trailer, which was published by Marvel Studios in October, but no information regarding his role was provided. Peyton Reed, the director of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania discussed with EW what Murray’s role signifies in the film during the debate.

“A big theme in this movie is the things that parents and kids don’t say to each other, the secrets that they keep in families. In the last movie [2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp], when Hank and Hope rescue Janet, Evangeline Lilly’s character had this idea of, ‘Oh, I’m going to be reunited with my mom, this is going to be great, we’re going to talk about everything. But what happens if the other person — in this case, Janet — puts up a wall and maybe is not comfortable talking about certain things and doesn’t reveal certain things about her past?”

He continues,

“As we know from great stories, you can put the past behind you, but the past will always find a way to show up again. Bill’s character represents that in this movie. Interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible,”

Also Read: ‘The greatest DLC ever made’: Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man 3 Book Shown in the Movie Isn’t Fictional, Actually Exists in Real Life

The film will introduce more new faces like Kathryn Newton who is rumored to succeed Scott Lang’s character in phase five. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will release in theatres on 17 February.

Bill Murray’s casting in Quantumania raises eyebrows regarding allegations

Murray is presently making waves for suspected off-screen conduct. A female staff member filed a complaint against the actor on the set of Searchlight Pictures’ Being Mortal in April, alleging he kissed and cradled her on set. Murray reportedly paid a $100,000 settlement, according to Deadline.

Also Read: “Worst possible time for Bill Murray to enter the MCU”: Fans DISGUSTED to See Bill Murray, Who Faces Allegations of Abuse, in the Ant-Man 3 Trailer

This is not the only allegation, more women have come forward to report misconduct on sets. This is not Murray’s first accusation of sexual assault. In Dying of Politeness, actress Geena Davis revealed how the actor reportedly yelled at her on the set of Quick Change (1990) when she refused to lie on the bed while he put a massage machine on her back. Murray also pulled down her dress strap during their movie promotion on The Arsenio Hall Show.

She wrote in her book about the first incident,

“I said no multiple times, but he wouldn’t relent. I would have had to yell at him and cause a scene if I was to get him to give up trying to force me to do it; the other men in the room did nothing to make it stop. I realized with profound sadness that I didn’t yet have the ability to withstand this onslaught – or to simply walk out.”

This has put the actor in the court of public opinion, where he is being slandered. Fans question his casting in the Marvel film because the big franchises usually try and keep away from these controversies.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases in theatres on 17 February 2023.

Source: The Tonight Show