With a career that spans a little over three decades, Paul Rudd has gone on to establish himself as one of the most entertaining and versatile actors in Hollywood. Throughout his career, he has worked on projects that are both, critically and commercially successful, hence, building himself an impressive career that makes him stand out in a pool of actors. He has worked in films of different genres such as comedy, drama, action, romance, and whatnot.
However, Paul Rudd’s most outstanding role was in the MCU as Scott Lang/ Ant-Man in the Ant-Man franchise. While the first two films were entertaining to watch, the third film couldn’t match the excitement, and a book released by Marvel stated that the film removed all the gay scenes before releasing it in China so that it could please the government and its fans in the country.
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Marvel Removed A Gay Scene From Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man 3
There is no denying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a massive name around the world, as the franchise kept coming up with unique and flawed characters that the audience could relate to. But more importantly, it was the gripping plot with the right amount of action that made the franchise so successful.
However, after Avengers: Endgame the franchise has struggled to meet its popularity and has been facing heavy criticism from fans all around the world. Hence, Marvel was somewhat desperate to screen their films in China, as their earlier films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Sadness, as well as Thor: Love and Thunder were banned too, possibly because they featured Valkyrie and Korg not being heterosexual characters.
Things were looking dire for Marvel, as four years had passed without any Marvel movies in China. As per the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, when Marvel Studios “hit a rough patch,” it was willing to do whatever “it took to shore up its global box office receipts.” To screen its films in China and other conservative countries Marvel decided to remove the “fleeting references to homosexuality in its movies.”
In Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the excising of the queer-friendly signs and flags in the background of the San Francisco scenes in the third sequel was removed, as the VFX team was forced to make those edits. This action was criticized by Victoria Alonso, an executive from Marvel, a gay Latina, who was terminated for her comments and criticism of the company. The termination showcased a crack in the unified front of Marvel’s leadership team, but on the brighter side, Marvel was back in China.
Surprisingly, China didn’t come up with any official statements but reports from 2022 state that the Chinese box office dropped by 36% from the previous year, falling behind the North American market. Hence, both needed each other and they bent their principles to come to an agreement.
Ant-Man 3’s Performance Was A Shock To The Marvel Studios
Following the incredible success of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios has struggled to keep up, as it hasn’t been the same. From poorly written characters to heinous visual effects, almost every project was heavily criticized. However, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man sequel brought some hope to the franchise, but it couldn’t meet the hype that it had created.
As per, The Watch podcast with Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald, Marvel Studios had massive expectations with the sequel. But the film received criticism from both the fans and the critics for several reasons, ending its theatrical run with $463.6 million. Sadly, Paul Rudd’s project made its name on the list of films that failed to meet its break-even point, giving another failed MCU project that rubbed salt in the wound.
