Now that Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania has been released in theaters, many can't help but wonder why a fan-favorite character wasn't included in the movie. Considering there are plenty of people who weren't pleased with the film, we can't help but wonder if it had anything to do with this actor's absence in the third Ant-Man movie. After all, he was a prominent figure in the first two films, which is why fans loved him.
So, why isn't Luis (played by Michael Peña) in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania? We get to the bottom of things.
Who Is Luis in Ant-Man?
Luis is Scott Lang's (played by Paul Rudd) loyal best friend and previous cellmate. After Scott became Ant-Man, Luis helped him out. Together with Kurt Goreshter (played by David Dastmalchian) and Dave (played by T.I.), they formed X-Con Security Consultants, a San Francisco-based company that specializes in security systems and devices.
When Scott was put on house arrest, Luis temporarily ran the company by himself. Despite these, however, Luis remains a loyal friend to Scott.
There's no denying, however, that fans have grown to love Luis' character in the franchise. He has been known for his extra-humorous manner of delivering a summarized recap of the events that happened in between the two Ant-Man films. This is why his character has been in the two Ant-Man films. There is even a video of Luis recapping the entire Infinity War saga for the Comic-Con.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been an update on Luis since Ant-Man and the Wasp. We don't even know if he was part of Thanos' snap or if he wasn't affected by the blip. And with a third Ant-Man film coming up, many are looking forward to seeing Luis' return.
Is Luis in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania?
In the days leading up to the release of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, Peña remained tight-lipped when asked whether he will be appearing in the film.
Back in August 2022, Comic Book asked Peña if he will be in the film. Peña answered:
"Who knows? I don't even know why people ask."
But in December 2022, Disney officially released eh full cast of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania. And unfortunately, Michael Peña's name is not included in the list. This confirms the theories that Luis is not returning in the third Ant-Man movie.
Why Luis Isn’t in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania?
There is actually a pretty valid reason why Luis isn't in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania (and neither are Kurt or Dave). As explained by director, Peyton Reed, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
"There were no versions of this movie [with Luis]. There are a lot of characters in the movie. We obviously have our Lang, van Dyne and Pym family, but then we also introduced Kang, M.O.D.O.K., and all of our Freedom Fighter characters. So we had to make decisions early on about what stories we could tell and what stories we couldn't tell. I love those characters."
Even though Reed agrees that Luis and the others were "really fun and part of the Lang family," it made no sense to include them into the Quantum Realm; which was what Quantumania is about.
The only characters that are returning are Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lily), Cassie Lang (played by Kathryn Newton), Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (played by Michelle Pfeiffer).
Will Michael Peña Be in Future Marvel Films?
As of this writing, we don't know for sure what's in store for Luis or Michael Peña's future in the Ant-Man or other Marvel films. It's also possible that it'll be the end for Luis' character in the show. Though given that he is a fan-favorite, we're hoping that Luis will make a surprise appearance in the future.
Or Peña could make an appearance as a Quantum Realm variant of Luis. After all, David Dastmalchian previously revealed that he will be returning as a brand new character called Veb. Here's hoping this isn't the end of Peña's much loved character.
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