How Ant-Man And The Wasp's Baba Yaga Gag Turned Into An Improvised Lullaby
Even if "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" is arguably the lowest point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and marked the beginning of what seems to be the end of its dominance in pop culture and box office, there is no denying that the first two "Ant-Man" movies are fantastic. They serve important roles in balancing out rather bleak and dense chapters in the Infinity Saga with some light fun that also grounds the universe and shows how regular people live outside of the big world-ending events.
A big part of the fun is Scott Lang's group of friends turned co-workers in his X-Con Security crew, which includes David Dastmalchian's Kurt — who delivers the best bit in either of the two movies. The bit begins when the crew hears about the second film ("Ant-Man and The Wasp")'s villain, Ghost, who has the ability to turn invisible. Kurt wastes no time connecting the dots to Baba Yaga, a witch who comes at night and steals children who misbehave. The joke climaxes later in the film when Kurt sees Ghost and starts singing a lullaby about Baba Yaga.
In an Ask Me Anything on Reddit, David Dastmalchian was asked whether it was his idea to do the bit, and he said the first explanation about the witch was already in the script. "But when we did it there was a really funny reaction from everyone and we just kept expanding the joke," Dastmalchian said. "When GHOST first jumps out and scares us in the interrogation scene, I just started improv'ing a little lullaby ..."
So there you have it, the best joke in "Ant-Man and The Wasp" was actually improvised by Dastmalchian, building upon a joke already in the script.
The cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp is the movie's key
It's not just about the jokes, however. It is the characters that make the first two "Ant-Man" movies essential to the franchise. The Baba Yaga moment would feel like just another Marvel quip, forced, unnatural if it wasn't for the way Dastmalchian's Kurt has been portrayed over the first two movies as a mysterious, dry-humored guy. The characters in the "Ant-Man" movies act as if they were aware they are characters in a comedy, leaning into the bits and the tropes not with a wink, but with an eagerness to deliver what's on the page as if they knew it was coming.
This is why the "but I got the van!" joke by Michael Peña's Luis is so effective, it's not just that he is smiling as he recounts his tragedies, but that he is clearly Scott's best friend and cares for him. It's how "Ant-Man and The Wasp" gets away with making Scott Lang's happy little family (which includes his ex-wife's new husband, a cop obsessed by throwing Scott in prison) work, because we care about these people. Before "Quantumania" abandoned San Francisco and most of the supporting cast for the fantastical, the "Ant-Man" movies felt like the most grounded movies in the MCU alongside "Spider-Man: Homecoming." This is how we get the Baba Yaga joke without it feeling out of place, and why "Quantumania" suffered from not bringing back Luis, or Kurt and his amazing hair.