Peyton Reed (The Break Up) returns to direct the sequel, reuniting with Rudd and Evangeline Lilly. Rudd reprises his role as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, while Lilly plays Hope van Dyne/Wasp (her transformation into a superhero was hinted at in the first film). The movie adds another female superhero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, prepares for its box-office debut in March 2019.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is the 20th film in the MCU series and flies into theaters roughly two months after Disney and Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War, the record-breaking tentpole that has become the top-grossing supehero film of all time at the global box office, as well as only one of four films that have earned $2 billion or more, not adjusted for inflation.

The follow-up, set between the events in Captain America: Civil War and Infinity War, sees Ant-Man and the Wasp embark on a new mission from van Dyne's father and SHIELD inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Hannah John-Kamen plays the villain Ghost.

Universal and Blumhouse's The First Purge also came on tracking Thursday. The film opens on July 4 and looks to gross $25 million or more over the course of its five-day debut.