Michael Peña is no stranger to superhero movies, having appeared as the character Luis in two Ant-Man movies so far – with a third on the way in 2023.
But this week fans can see him starring in rather a different kind of superhero adventure, with brand new film Secret Headquarters arriving on Paramount Plus on Friday 12th August.
The film, which also stars Owen Wilson and child actor Walker Scobell (The Adam Project), differs from the MCU in that it imagines things from the perspective of a superhero’s son rather than the heroes themselves, and this was something that Peña found interesting to explore.
“It was an interesting angle,” he told RadioTimes.com. “Like, you know, what do they [the kids] see? And it’s true – if you’re a superhero, that means you’re probably not spending a lot of time at home.”
“We felt like that was something that we would have really liked seeing when we were kids,” added co-director Henry Joost.
“A story about friendship and about families and about kids saving the day. And I think when you’re a kid, you kind of fantasise about having a secret headquarters of your own and beating up adults and playing with gadgets and driving before you have a driver’s license.”
Peña stars as the film’s main villain Ansel Argon, a global arms dealer who soon finds himself facing off with some fearless kids, and he explained that playing “fun or outrageous” antagonists is always something that appeals to him.
And in this case, he said there was a very specific person he based his portrayal on.
“I thought of this one guy – you know the pharma bro, Martin Shkreli,” he said. “I thought of how… you know, just adding in a little bit of him.
“He could have easily have played the part if he was an actor. So I kind of just had him in mind the entire time, you know like he stumbles and he stutters and it’s just about what he cares about, you know.”
