Michael Douglas On His 'Ant-Man' Gig: "Sometimes, You've Got To Shake Them Up"

The recent casting of Michael Douglas in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man came as a big surprise for a couple reasons. One was that, up until Douglas was announced, there had been no confirmation that the film would feature two different Ant-Men. Another was that, well, this is Douglas we're talking about. Comic book movies haven't really been his thing, historically speaking.

But based on Douglas' latest comments, it sounds like the shock factor was what attracted him to the role in the first place. "Sometimes — like (when) they didn't see you for Liberace — you've got to shake them up a little bit and have some fun," he said. Hit the jump to find out some of the other reasons he decided to sign on.

Douglas delved into his reasons for taking the part in an interview with Reuters. While the 69-year-old actor seems to be taking pleasure in surprising people, he also joined the film for all the usual, expected reasons. "I've been dying to do a Marvel picture for so long," he said. "The script is really fun, the director is really good. Dylan (the actor's 13-year-old son) will love it. He'll have a picture he can see."

Ant-Man differs from most of Douglas' other roles in that it's already part of a big, lucrative franchise — meaning it's likely to spawn some sequels in the future. To date, Douglas has only done one sequel, 2010's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But it sounds like he's open to doing more Marvel movies. "(Marvel) reciprocated well, there are sequels. Who knows?" he said.

Whether Ant-Man winds up being Douglas' only Marvel appearance or the first of many, we look forward to checking him out when the film opens July 31, 2015.