Ant-Man and the Wasp star Laurence Fishburne seemingly forgot his more recent role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The incident occurred while Fishburne expressed his love for the franchise.
Fishburne is a Hollywood veteran with a career spanning more than five decades in the industry. His most notable role has been the iconic Morpheus in the original Matrix trilogy alongside franchise leading man Keanu Reeves, who he also collaborated with in the action franchise John Wick as the Bowery King, a role he reprised in John Wick 4. Furthermore, Fishburne starred as Bill Foster in the MCU film Ant-Man and the Wasp.
In a recent interview on the Phase Zero podcast, Fishburne was asked what things he geeked out about or hoped to see more of. The Ant-Man 2 star said, "I’m an MCU guy, man. I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And as much as I would love to be in it, I’m happy being a fan and waiting for whatever’s coming. Like I just heard, I was in Atlanta, I heard they’re getting ready to do another Captain America. I’m like, Yes! Bring it!" While the answer was endearing, people quickly noted that Fishburne had already been in the MCU, portraying Bill Foster, guardian to Ava Starr. The actress behind that role, Hannah John-Kamen, who was also cast as the lead for the Red Sonja movie announced in 2021, is one of the cast members of another Marvel Studios project.
Fishburne still remembered his role in the MCU in a December 2021 interview with ComicBook.com, where he was asked if fans could expect to see him reprise his role in future Marvel projects. “What if I told you I don’t know?” He said regarding his reappearance in the MCU. “I don’t know.” It is possible that Fishburne said this more to manage fan expectations than as an admission to being out of the loop, a lesson he might have picked up after not being invited to star in The Matrix Resurrections despite clear fan interest.
Fishburne's case is similar to Gwenyth Paltrow, another Marvel star who forgot what MCU films she’d been in, despite having a more prominent role in the MCU than Fishburne and even admitting that she would be willing to return to the MCU conditionally in the future. With such a large selection of films and other projects in the MCU and the long list of projects that both actors have been involved with in their long and successful careers, it’s to be expected that one or two appearances might slip through the cracks.
While Fishburne says he’s content just being a fan and celebrating the MCU projects as they’re announced, there’s still a chance that fans get to see him again. With his character’s adopted ward Ava Starr appearing on Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts lineup as Ghost, there is more than a small chance that Fishburne's Bill Foster will make an MCU appearance again soon.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is available for streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Phase Zero