Actor and comedian Bill Murray, known for his roles in films like Ghostbustersand Groundhog Day, has confirmed that he will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Earlier this month, The Cosmic Circus reported that Murray had joined Marvel Studios' third Ant-Man film in an undisclosed role. Murray himself has now confirmed as much in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, shared to Twitter by user Patrick Heidmann. "You know, recently I made a Marvel movie," Murray said in the interview, which has been translated from German.
"I probably won't tell you, but never mind," Murray continued. "In any case, some people were quite surprised why I decided on such a project. But for me the thing was quite clear: I got to know the director -- and really liked him very much. He was funny, humble, everything you want from a director. And with the cheerleader story Bring It On - Girls United he made a movie years ago, which I think is damn good. So I agreed, although I'm not interested in these huge comic book adaptations as an actor otherwise."
Notably, the director of the 2000 film Bring It On, known as Girls United in Germany, is none other than Peyton Reed. Reed, who helmed 2015's Ant-Man and 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, returns as the director of Quantumania.
Regarding Murray's comment about not usually being interested in comic book films, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung interviewer asked the actor if he regretted taking on a Marvel role at all. "Let's put it this way: the director is a good guy, and now I've at least tried out what it's like to shoot a Marvel movie," Murray replied. "But I don't think I need that experience a second time. And to come back to your previous question: I have mostly had a pretty good knack for avoiding the nasties of this industry. Fortunately, most good artists are also good people. At least that's how I experience it with my friends."
Set to hit theaters in July 2023 after recently losing its February 2023 release date, Quantumania stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym -- all of whom reprise their roles from the first two Ant-Man films -- as well as Michelle Pfeiffer, who reprises her role as Janet van Dyne from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Murray isn't the only newcomer to the Ant-Man franchise, as Quantumania also stars Kathryn Newton and Jonathan Majors. Newton takes over the role of Cassie Lang, previously played by Abby Ryder Fortson and Emma Fuhrmann, while Majors plays main antagonist Kang the Conqueror. Majors recently made his MCU debut as He Who Remains, a variant of Kang, in the Season 1 finale of Marvel Studios' Disney+ original series Loki.