Michael Douglas has revealed he’s unlikely to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The 80-year-old star played Hank Pym in four MCU movies beginning with Ant-Man in 2015. He returned in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
When asked by Deadline whether he has any plans to return to the blockbuster superhero franchise, Douglas responded: “I don’t think so. I had the experience, and I was excited to do it. I’d never done a green screen picture before.”
He added that, as he enters his 80s, he’s planning to take on fewer acting roles. “I did the The Kominsky Method because I wanted to work with Chuck Lorre and try some comedy,” he said. “But I’m enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life. It was overwhelming running the production company and acting at the same time.”
Douglas notably balanced the dual roles of actor and producer throughout his lengthy career, running production companies like Stonebridge Entertainment and Further Films while starring in the movies he made.
The Basic Instinct star went on to say that he hasn’t completely ruled out a return to acting, but it would only be “if something good comes up that I really like.”
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“I don’t feel a burning desire,” he added. “I’m still producing. I still love bringing people together.”
Douglas was speaking ahead of a 50th anniversary Cannes screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which he produced. The film, which stars Jack Nicholson, was a major box office success.
Last year, Douglas discovered he is related to one of his Marvel co-stars.
The actor, who is the son of three-time Academy Award nominee Kirk Douglas and is married to Best Supporting Actress winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, appeared on an episode of genealogy series Finding Your Roots.
At the end of his segment on the episode, Douglas received a surprise from host Henry Louis Gates, who told the Ant-Man actor he is distantly related to one of his Marvel Cinematic universe (MCU) co-stars: Scarlett Johansson.
“Your DNA cousin is the actress Scarlett Johansson,” Gates told the star, who won Best Actor for Wall Street at the 1988 Oscars.
Gates added: “Michael and Scarlett share identical stretches of DNA on four different chromosomes, all of which appear on Scarlett’s maternal lines, which stretch back to Jewish communities in eastern Europe.”
Visibly surprised, Douglas said: “Are you kidding? Oh, that’s amazing. Alright, this is cool. This is so cool. That’s incredible.”
He said he “looks forward to seeing” Johansson again to inform her of their connection.
