For
Marvel and
Ant-Man fans, it's safe to say these last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. It seemed the upcoming film was in tip-top shape, with big stars such as Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd headlining the film, and acclaimed comedy director Edgar Wright finally bringing his vision of the character to the big screen. Yet
Ant-Man hit a pretty major and surprising speed bump when Wright decided to part way with
Marvel, leaving the studio to resort to an extensive desperate search for a replacement. Well now, fans can thankfully stopping holding their breathe, because
Ant-Man has finally landed both a director and new writer.
The news comes courtesy of
Marvel themselves, who announced that after hearing several names up to replace Wright,
Yes Man director Peyton Reed will be at the helm when filming commences later this year. Not only do we now know who will be directing, but the studio also revealed that
Anchorman director Adam McKay (Who was previously thought to be Wright's replacement) will actually be tweaking the film's script. Reed's involvement isn't exactly too reassuring, as his resume of films (
Yes Man,
Bring It On, and
The Break-Up) pale in comparison to Wright's. Yet, McKay involvement certainly helps make up for those concerns, as he has numerous comedy hits to his credit.
This all began with the unexpected departing of director Edgar Wright from
Ant-Man, who's best known for his work on
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,
The Worlds End,
Shaun of the Dead, and
Hot Fuzz. The director's exit came as a major shocker to fans, especially considering the fact that Wright had been working on the film since 2006. Fans have yet to get a solid answer as to why Edgar Wright left the film, but the buzz around the film world suggests that
Marvel wanted to add ideas in which did not fit his style of film-making, or he saw unnecessary to be implemented. While many had already been a bit concerned that Wright's 2006 script for the film wasn't going to fit in the current mold of the MCU,
Marvel Studios president Kevin Fiege had assured fans that they'd make adjustments through rewrites, so perhaps this could've been the source of this script rewrite conflict.
Now of course many fans as well as fellow
Marvel directors (Particularly James Gunn and Joss Whedon) have addressed their disappointment in not being able to see Wright carry out his vision, but
Marvel still remained determined that the show must go in. In the last couple of weeks we've seen
Marvel go through several American comedy directors to take over the reigns, with McKay (Who's now writing the film) having passed on directing the film along with fellow contenders Rawson Marshall Thurber (
We're The Millers) and Nicholas Stoller (
Neighbors). Ruben Fleischer (
Zombieland) was also in contention at a point, but has now gone on to be the frontrunner to direct
Ghostbusters 3, and there was no word on how close Michael Dowse (
Goon) had been to landing the gig.
With the confirmed involvement of both Reed and McKay, and considering all the directors
Marvel was considering for the
Ant-Man gig, it's become increasingly clear that
Marvel plans on making this a comedy film. Yet it's a bit discomforting knowing that neither of the two have had as much experience in the action department as Wright had, although this certainly isn't the first time
Marvel has taken a risk hiring slightly inexperienced directors.
Avengers director Joss Whedon had a background primarily made up of TV show before helming the major blockbuster, where as
Captain America: The Winter Soldier director Joe and Anthony Russo merely had a few episodes of
Community under their belt. And who could forget Jon Favreau, who directed
Iron Man (The film that started it all) following his work on the family films
Elf and
Zathura.
So how do you feel about Peyton Reed and Adam McKay now working on Ant-Man? Would you have have preferred if one of the other contenders got the gig? Let us know below!
