Everything You Need to Know About Ghost, the Villain From 'Ant-Man and The Wasp'

The already-mysterious hacker is making its way into this summer's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp.' Here's all the intel we could dig up on the Marvel villain known as Ghost, from comic book origins to how the big screen adaption became female.

Ghost
Marvel

Image via Marvel

Ghost

This summer, Marvel Studios is releasing Ant-Man and the Wasp, the first MCU film to be released following the gut-punch of All Thanos Everything Avengers: Infinity War. While the first Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer highlighted the madcap hilarity and action coursing through the film, the latest trailer finally introduced the villain of the film, Ghost. Yes, Ghost.

Trust, it's okay if you're not like, "Oh, sh*t, it's Ghost!" The character just isn't one of the bigger villains from the Marvel Comics universe. But those who know are excited for the possibilities of how Marvel will bring this particular character to the big screen, especially considering that they've made some changes to Ghost as a person.

That said, we want to make sure you're ready for Ghost before Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6. Here's a primer on Ghost, an interesting character in the comics that's going to make a real splash on-screen this summer. We've even made sure to include some info about the film's Ghost that we learned on our Ant-Man and the Wasp set visit back in September. Don't say we never did anything for you.

Ghost truly is a mystery

Ghost

Ghost can walk through walls

Ghost vs. Iron Man

Ghost is something of an anti-hero

The Thunderbolts

The MCU's Ghost is a woman

Hannah John Kamen as Ghost in 'Ant Man and the Wasp'

In the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer, we get to see Ghost phase and steal tech while giving Ant-Man a thorough ass-kicking. We also see Ghost's face, and recognize her as Hannah John-Kamen, who's been having a moment this year in Hollywood. Many should remember her as Sonja from the "Playtest" episode of Black Mirror, but she's also been featured earlier this year in Tomb Raider and Ready Player One. Her role as Ghost will no doubt be her biggest yet of 2018, and has us excited for the moves Marvel is making with the character on-screen.

When Entertainment Weekly asked Ant-Man and the Wasp director Peyton Reed about making the MCU's Ghost female, he offered up a very practical answer: "The Ghost character could be male, female, anything, so it just seemed more interesting to us [to cast a woman]." During our trip to Atlanta in September of 2017 to visit the Ant-Man and the Wasp set, we got to speak with John-Kamen about her character.

Hannah John-Kamen behind the scenes as Ghost in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

First, John-Kamen appreciated the shift to making John-Kamen a woman, calling it "forward-thinking." With so much mystery surrounding the character, though, she did say she enjoyed the "blank slate" she was given to formulate her own vision as the Ghost: "I think, it’s important as an actor to have your own input. It’s been amazing to work with Peyton on that."

Ghost in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

Later, John-Kamen spoke on how "amazing" she thought the costume was, but even more surprising was how she spoke on doing her own stunts. "I do my own, I love doing my own stunts, 100 percent. I think it makes such a difference when you as an actor do your stunts. It’s been really fun having that experience and training; if you just let your double do everything, you’re not there to help choreograph the movement of your character. And it’s so nice to have the freedom to be able to go, 'do you know what? Let’s find the movement of the character and see what actual kind of moves will work for that particular person."

Sadly, there's not much else that can be divulged regarding Ghost. John-Kamen called Ghost a "mystery," and did mention briefly that giving us any major insight on who Ghost is would "spoil it...for the fans," so you'll have to live with these glimpses of her in action and know that she's taken the time to craft her own vision of the "ghastly" Ghost for Ant-Man and the Wasp. It is interesting to point out that a number of times, when mentioning Ghost as a villain, John-Kamen made sure to call Ghost an "antagonist." Hmm.

Ghost in action, 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

Will more creators take the gender-swap approach to these kinds of villains? Time will only tell. We have a feeling Hannah's portrayal is going to add a layer of depth to the character that Ghost's creators might have never even thought of, making for an extremely interesting movie overall.

Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6.

Latest in Pop Culture