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Paul Rudd reveals 'horrendous' Quantumania behind-the-scenes secret

The Ant-Man actor shared a behind-the-scenes secret that fans probably wouldn't have expected.

Marvel fan favourite Paul Rudd has shared a "horrendous" behind-the-scenes secret from the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that fans probably wouldn't expect. The 53-year-old jetted into Sydney this week alongside co-star Jonathan Majors and director Peyton Reed for a fan event for the film and spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle, revealing the surprising secret.

In the film, Scott Lang, AKA Ant-Man (Rudd), and Hope Van Dyne, AKA the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), explore the Quantum Realm, a dimension in the Multiverse that you may remember from previous Ant-Man films or Avengers: End Game.

Paul Rudd at an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania event
Paul Rudd has revealed a behind-the-scenes secret from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that fans might not expect. Photo: Getty

When shooting scenes within the Quantum Realm, a lot of green screens and CGI are used to create the incredible futuristic look, with Paul revealing that some of what you see is actually on set, but it's not always for the best.

"Well, you know, here's something [fans] wouldn't expect," Paul shared. "Even though there's a lot of CGI, there is stuff that's practical. We try and do as much of that as possible, and we created one whole set on a sound stage where we have, you know, giant, crazy buildings, and it's a weird scene. It's a really weird... like a planet almost! It looks strange, and it was filled with dirt. And so we really felt like we were in the Quantum Realm for real.

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"And they got a really good deal on the dirt, but that was because they didn't realise it was actually just manure. So when we were filming it, it was horrendous," the star added with a smile.

"And it got to the point where they all realised, 'Oh, we need to do something about this because this is - it smells so bad, we can't film here.' So they got new dirt."

When we jokingly asked if he thought the movie would be a reflection of what was happening behind-the-scenes, he quipped, "If the film is anything like the substance we were walking on, we're in real trouble."

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
While there is a lot of CGI in the film, Paul shared with us that they try to have as much on set as possible to make the scenes feel real. Photo: Disney

Jonathan Majors agreed that the parts that weren't CGI were the most interesting, telling us, "I think if you looked at what actually isn't CGI, you'd be amazed. Because there were moments where we just went for it, and we went, 'Yeah, OK, we're going to do that. We don't need visual effects. We're going to go with that.'

"And that was interesting. That was a lot of fun."

How Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania differs from the rest of the MCU

Peyton Reed shared with us how this movie will differ from other films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explaining, "The first Ant-Man introduced the idea of a Quantum Realm. And in that movie, it was really— Scott spent a little bit of time in there as a result of taking out Yellowjacket and saving his daughter. So now, a couple of movies later, to really be able to spend time in there, and also the Quantum Realm, and Scott's knowledge of the Quantum Realm was the thing that ultimately helped the Avengers defeat Thanos.

Paul Rudd with Ant-Man co-star Jonathan Majors and director Peyton Reed
Paul with co-star Jonathan Majors and director Peyton Reed at a fan event in Sydney. Photo: Getty

"So, we really want to go down now further into the Quantum Realm and experience it, because I think maybe the family thinks Janet was just wandering around a void for 30 years. But that's not the case."

Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp, was lost in the Quantum Realm for 30 years after sacrificing herself to disarm a Soviet missile bound for the US in 1987. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Janet is finally saved. However, Scott later gets stuck in the Quantum Realm after Thanos' snap erased the Van Dyne family while he was inside, leaving no way for him to exit. However, he was lucky enough to escape five years later and used the Quantum Realm to defeat Thanos in Avengers: End Game.

Payton continued, "There are worlds down there and beings and civilisations, and there's oppression down there. So that's the exciting thing about this movie, to me, is to introduce this little corner of the Marvel universe that hasn't really been explored."

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