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Comic book fans have been very spoiled this year. In the last couple of months, comic book adaptations like Deadpool 2 and the highly-awaited Avengers: Infinity Wars have debuted in the box-office. There’s no stopping their luck. Seems like the rest of the year would be as enjoyable for Marvel and DC fanboys. In fact, in less than a month another Marvel feature is set to hit the big screen.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is scheduled to premiere early in July across the United States. Unfortunately, not everyone would get to enjoy the movie. Earlier this week, the studio behind the movie announced that Ant-Man and the Wasp won’t be released in the United Kingdom until August. Disney, parent company of Marvel Studio, decided to delay the premiere in order to accommodate for the World Cup.
It isn’t unusual for film releases to vary in certain areas. Especially across the pond, movies premiere a few days or even a week after the US debut. Nevertheless, the month delay has sparked outrage from fans outside the United States. The outrage has been considerable enough that one fan has started a petition asking the studio to move up the premiere date.
On Change.org, Adam Khan explained that he is very disappointed in Marvel’s decision to postpone the premiere date of Ant-Man and the Wasp. He laments that a month is a long time to dodge spoilers:
“Marvel and Disney have decided to push Ant-Man and The Wasp back a month because of The World Cup. This means fans in the UK will get the movie a month after the rest of the world. True Marvel fans, like myself, are upset and disappointed by this, as after seeing the beauty that is Avengers: Infinity War, we want questions answered and more importantly, to enjoy the movie. How can we go a month without spoilers? You can watch the World Cup and watch a movie as well.”
At this point, the petition has racked up over 2000 signatures, only a few hundred more to meet its goal of 2500.
Aside from the fans, it seems like the cast and crew of Ant-Man and the Wasp are also concerned over the studio’s decision. Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope Pym, is also upset over the delay. The actress explains that moving the premiere date opens up a lot of avenues for piracy. People would opt to watch a pirated version of the movie instead of waiting a month with the risk of being spoiled:
“They always do that. Then what happens is people just pirate the movie and they see it in the worst way possible, like some shitty version online, instead of going to a theater. They go in the end, but I don’t like that staggering. I’m really going to get to the bottom of this for you. I’m as pissed off about it as you are,” explained Lilly in an interview with Comicbook.com.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is scheduled to debut in the United States on July 6, 2018. On the other hand, fans in the UK would have to wait until August 3, 2018 to see the movie on the big screen.
