Geek-fave British filmmaker Edgar Wright has been developing Ant-Man for six years now, which is even longer than Marvel Studio’s Cinematic Universe has been in existence. The project was finally locked down for a 2015 release after making an appearance at the 2012 Comic-Con, where a test footage reel was screened – managing to bring down the house, despite it not even being finished.
Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige has confirmed that Ant-Man will kick-off Phase III of the MCU, building on the events of the upcoming Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers sequels (in addition to Guardians of the Galaxy). Hence, once Wright finishes both post-production and promotion duties for The World’s End – a finale to his genre riff trilogy, including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz – he will (at last) devote all efforts to bringing the tiniest Avenger to the big screen.
IGN recently interviewed Wright about The World’s End, where (not surprisingly) the conversation eventually turned to the Ant-Man script he and writer-director Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) have spent years now putting together. Wright spoke about his new comic book project, how it should benefit from his gained experience over the past five years, and which MCU Phase I installment was his favorite.
On the topic of his approach to Ant-Man:
“It’s a way of doing a superhero film within another genre. I wanted to tell an origin tale in a slightly different way. It’s part of the Marvel cinematic universe, but it also feels like its own piece.”
Wright’s comments echo those of Wolverine director James Mangold, in terms of how neither wants to adhere to the typical superhero movie formula. Here, Ant-Man is shaping up closer to an espionage genre action-thriller – similar to, say, the first Mission: Impossible installment – rather than your average ‘Superhero Movie’ about an ordinary person gaining incredible powers, learning to be responsible, and so forth. That should set a good precedent for other films coming during Phase III, including Doctor Strange (which is the other confirmed new superhero movie in Phase III, to date).
On why Ant-Man‘s been in pre-production mode for six years:
“I’ve been collaborating with [Marvel boss] Kevin [Feige] during the whole of that cycle. I think people have always assumed… ‘Oh why is it taking so long to make?’ Part of it is because I wanted to make two other movies [Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The World's End] first… But to be honest, the later I do it, it feels like I could learn more, especially about special effects. It’s a big effects movie, so I’m pleased to go into it having done Scott Pilgrim and The World’s End because you’re always learning more about that side.”
Scott Pilgrim‘s effects-heavy nature makes it a good illustration of what Wright can do with the proper budget, which gives all the more reason to be excited about him taking on the Ant-Man universe.
Moreover, rumors continue to point towards future MCU installments branching out even further into the cosmos after Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy – be it during The Avengers 2 or in a Planet Hulk movie down the line – meaning, it is all the more important for Earth-bound installments (like Ant-Man) to be stylish and technically-sophisticated. That should allow them to compete with their fantastical peers and keep fans interested in what’s happening on our home planet. Suffice it to say, Wright’s a great choice to meet that challenge.
As for his favorite Marvel movies so far, well, the answer shouldn’t surprise you:
“I guess my two favorites would have to be Iron Man and The Avengers. I’ve enjoyed all of them and I think those two are the ones that score highest on the popcorn metre. That totally work as great crowd-pleasers. And I think what they’ve managed to do in terms of The Avengers coming after a five-film cycle, is kind of extraordinary and unprecedented in cinema history. To bring together four other franchises into one. It couldn’t have gone better could it? It’s amazing.”
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Iron Man 3 releases May 3rd, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8th, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4th, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st, 2014, The Avengers 2 on May 1st, 2015 and Ant-Man on November 6th, 2015.
Now that Chris Pratt is playing Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, who are hoping to see take up the Ant-Man mantle? Lee Pace, Joel Edgerton or another person on our ’10 Actors Marvel Should Consider for Ant-Man‘ list? Let us know in the comments!
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Source: IGN
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Espionage huh. Sounds like some one is going to steal some Pym tech and Ant-Man is going to have to get it back.
Can’t wait!
Scott Lang?
To people who complain that Ant-Man is not strong enough to carry his own movie…
Its not about Ant-man
Its about letting Edgar Wright direct his own superhero movie. I dont care if he’s directing “Krypto the Superdog movie”, he’s a fantastic director thats able to find the humor and genius in any project he takes. Scott Pilgrim is the most recent movie to make it on my top 50 list. So im really excited to see what he can do with Ant-Man, and how it will play into a universe with the Hulk and Iron Man
You beautiful human being you. Your comment sums up everything perfectly.
Scotr pilgrim is in my top 10 of the decade
I think Ant-Man could hold up a movie anyhow (especially if Wasp is in it too), having Edger Wright is a huge bonus!
It has nothing to do with Wright’s directing talent. It’s the fact that he is going to use Scott Lang as the primary character instead of Hank Pym.
It might be his childhood dream to bring, “To Steal an Ant-Man” to life, but for those of us who prefer the real Ant-Man (AND a founding member of The Avengers) he will end up ruining a character we want to see on the silver screen.
Not necessarily what if he puts both characters in the movie and makes Pym the hero of the picture. Wouldn’t that satisfy both requirements??
I still hope these early rumors will not be true (although I do brace myself for disappointment…).
These rumors, fed by Wright himself, don’t seem logical to me. As far as 2007, he talked widely about his idea, the script, and the characters involved. Considering Marvel’s tendancy to secrecy, I just don’t see why he would divulgate such “huge” information out years in advance.
After all, Cap 2 started shooting and we didn’t know that Falcon would be in it, Thor 2 started shooting and we didn’t know about the dark elves and the setting… IM3 is about to hit the theaters, and we don’t know as much of the script as we do about the so-call story from Wright’s Ant-Man.
It just doesn’t make sense to me that he would talk about the script in such details years in advance…
cap 2 has not started shooting yet actually, and is reportedly being delayed a couple of months
http://screenrant.com/captain-america-2-release-date-summer/
I think that’s a good point of view. I couldn’t care less about Ant Man (though I like other Marvel characters) but I will see this anyway because of Edgar Wright. Scott Pilgrim is one of my favourite movies, and Shaun/Fuzz were also great.
I love Edgar Wright and I love Ant Man so I’m very hopeful for this as long as Marvel does’nt interfere too much, just let Wright do his thing.
I hate Ant-Man!!! Hate to admit it but this sounds okay but i still don’t think he can carry his own movie and still i think he’s a weak character.
It’s not about Ant Man, it’s about the movie.
My looking forward to this, especially after seeing what they did with Thor. They made a tough to adapt characters into a very cool movie and story. There is no reason to think that they can’t do the same with Ant-Man. The only thing I’m bummed about is that there is no Iron Man movie listed in phase three.
I’m sure Iron Man will be in phase 3 wether Robert D. Jr. will be in it or not.
With me, I am ok with Scott lang stealing the suit, however I do want Pym to be the Modern one first as well, I want Pym to show up in the avengers, then lang to steal the suit, then he becomes goliath or yellowjacket in a later film, we know we want Wasp, so we do need pym, without him it doesnt work well
also have you guys considered doing a supervillians we could see in ant-man list? like egghead, human-top/whirlwind, porcupine, and of course the black night.
and how about supporting characters we would like to see in a future marvel film, we know we are getting falcon and kurse, but what about Beta-Ray Bill or Baron Zemo? a lot of the casual guys around here don’t know who they are, but they have a good chance of showing up, just a thought
Maybe it could be shield? I dont know much about the character, but this to me sounds more like a grounded chase movie for the suit. Would shield have any reason to take his suit before recruiting him? Maybe as a test.. idk
I see problems with that, the first being in the comics, he actualy destroyed the original formula rather than let it get in the hands of someone who would use it for the wrong reasons. Also only one ant-man ever worked for sheild, and that was before he stole the costume, and he was a bit of a sleezy lowlife, there is a reason he was called the ‘Irredemable Antman’
That’s all very good and well Mr Wright. Just make sure the movie’s about Hank Pym, mkay?
No clue if it’s still just rumour or been confirmed anywhere but I heard they’ll show Pym in the 60s as the original Ant-Man and the guy working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the modern times will be Scott Lang.
Not sure that’s viable but I’m ok with both being in it somehow.
That’s the original rumor all of us Hank Pym supporters are dreading.
It will kill off so many good story lines or then force Marvel to severely twist things to make make them happen. We already saw how badly Fox screwed with X-Men canon and don’t want to see that happen with the Avengers.
if ant man is not about hank its gonna suck
Yeah! Fellow Pym fans! I couldn’t agree more! I don’t know why, but I can’t help but love the guy!
It seems to be the global opinion of the fans out there. In fact, it’s divided into “I want the solo movie to be about Pym” and “I want Pym in The Avengers” (which seems to be the majority of the fans). And there are the ones that don’t feel as strongly towards Pym, but they still prefer Pym over to Lang.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen a lot of “Forget Pym, I want Lang”. In fact, I did see some “I want to see Lang in the movie” but it was always followed by “But Pym has to be there too”.
So heh, think about that, Mr Wright
And pleeeeease, think about the fans. You’re doing this for us, after all 
they should have titled the movie Hank Pym rather than … ANT MAN … just sounds so s*** to a casual movie goer lol.
Edgar Wright has stated (in 2007, I THINK) that he’ll include both Pym and Lang.
Great director. Writes memorable characters, lines and scenes. Has a hot girlfriend to boot! Damn his success! Best of luck to him, of course!
Too bad Ant-Man won’t be apart of Phase Two. I wonder if Pym will have an appearance in Avengers 2 though.
I know that Wright is a great writer and director but GAWWWD!!! EIGHT YEARS in pre-production, then to top it off, the direction he wanted to go into was with Pym in the 60′s and Lang being the main character or sharing the limelight?!! Common Son!!?? Because of you dude, we didn’t get Janet Van Dyne in the 1st Avengers movie. Now because you STILL have not gotten this movie done, we might not get Ultron util Avengers 3, if at all, which makes no sense because Thanos or even Kang should be the MAIN villain in the trilogy NOT Ultron. Ant-Man should come out BEFORE Avengers 2 not AFTER dude!!! Feige has waaaaaayyyyy to much confidence in this guy, any other studio would have moved on years ago. This movie had better be PHENOMENAL!!! and yeah like The Avemger said, focus on Hank Pym and Janet sir not Scott Lang, show some respect for this founding members of the Avengers.
Its not Wright’s falt that the movie hasn’t been made yet. Marvel didn’t want to include Ant Man in Phase 1 or 2.
Actually, if Wright had dedicated his time to Ant-Man and not all those other projects, we might very well have gotten Ant-Man sooner.
Regardless of the level of excitement and enthusiasm of the educated minority who know this character, this movie will struggle to connect with the the casual movie goer who is not as familiar with this character and the uneducated masses are what will determine if this is a success or not and I am betting it will flop.
This is one of the reasons why I still hope that we’ll get to see Pym in another movie before his solo movie. That way, people will get to know the guy and if the studios choose wisely and cast someone who actually fits the bill, I’ll bet people will want to know more about him. Hence, go see the solo movie when it comes out.
Yeah I’m gona hafta say like my name says…
Hmmm ok you guys, on another note, espionage does work with classic Pym as well. In the original comics, he was a patriotic american scientest, who happened to suceed at making a shrinking formula(liquid, then gas, then pill then mental), and his wife was a imigrant freedom fighter from behind the iron curtian(who got killed prior to his becoming ant-man, was one of his motivations to fight crime, and part of the reason it was a long time before he admited his feelings for jan)
Also of his enemies in his Solo run, about 60% were spies(comrade X, random red spy ring), or evil/defector/disgruntled scientests(egghead, he sold secrets to the commies; Porcupine(DoD scientest who decided a life of crime was more profitable than giving his battlesuit over for a paltry paycheck; elder scientest with an age ray; And of course the black night, who fled behind the black curtian, rigged up a gimicy lance, and geneticly engineered a FLYING HORSE), and of course there was an occasional alien, a giant spider, a giant radioactive beetle, the plant that overgrew Manhattan. And of course his one non-scientest arch-foe was the Human top who is better known as Whirlwind(one of the first mutants in the comics, just take a wild guess what he does; proably one of the few mutants the MCU can use other than Namor).
so yeah, taking down rouge scientests and spies arent anything new for Henry pym
Wright seems like a great choice for Ant-Man I am excited for this movie
Im all for an Ant-Man movie. Edgar Wright has yet to make a film I don’t like. I have total confidence in him.
I’m more excited to see this than GOTG just because of Edgar Wright! Now I want a superhero movie by Duncan Jones.
I think it’s good that he worked on other projects first, which would give him more experience hopefully resulting in an even better film! Too many movies are rushed now.
anyone who thinks antman is too weak should ask the wasp