It has been a busy couple of weeks on the Ant-man and Marvel front. First, everyone was taken aback when Edgar Wright, who had been attached to the film since before the original Iron-man, suddenly departed the project. Then we received word that Marvel’s Mad Titan had finally been cast in the form of Josh Brolin. Today comes news of who may be replacing Edgar Wright in the directors chair (UPDATE: not anymore).
UPDATE:
Within a day of being named the number one choice for Marvel and having been involved in advanced negotiations to direct the film, Adam McKay has pulled himself out of the running for the job. No reasons were given this decision at this point in time.
All we can do is speculate on why he abandoned this lucrative job, whatever the reason it doesn’t seem good. With two directors refusing Marvel’s rewrites it makes me think Ant-man is in pretty bad shape. McKay’s decision to leave the project could be nothing but nerves or it could mean everything. Until official word comes around we will never know.
Original Story:
Multiple sources from reputable outlets (AICN, Variety and THR) have all stated that Adam McKay is the frontrunner to get behind the helm of Ant-man.
Yesterday, OTL News posted an article listing a number of potential candidates to take over the job, McKay included. After that post word spread that Rawson Thurber (of We’re the Millers fame) seemed like the likely choice, while now, as stated above, Adam McKay has entered “advanced talks’ with Marvel.
McKay does have past experience working with lead Paul Rudd but his lack of experience with visual effects and action leaves me hesitant to immediately jump for joy. Out of the shortlist posted yesterday I would have preferred Ruben Fleischer to take the job, with his prior work on Gangster Squad and Zombieland he seemed like an obvious fit. I do enjoy McKay’s films overall, however. Anchorman 2 really surprised me with its contemporary relevance and deep, critical subtext into modern media. If McKay can infuse Ant-man with that level of intelligence as well as bring his signature funny then we may be in for a treat.
What do you guys think of the news? Prefer a different director take over the reigns? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check back in to OTL News for all things Marvel and Ant-man!
Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Patrick Wilson, Michael Peña, Corey Stoll and Matt Gerald. It is currently scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on July 17th, 2015.