While Adam McKay is certainly no novice when it comes to making successful films – he is the man behind Anchorman, after all – he is currently enjoying something of a surge in interest, following the release of his latest movie, The Big Short. The reason for such interest is that the award-baiting film covers some dramatic ground previously uncharted by the director, who is renowned for his comedy output. But, even while promoting The Big Short, the filmmaker cannot escape questions about Ant-Man And The Wasp.
Adam McKay found himself working with Marvel on the 2015 film Ant-Man after original writer-director Edgar Wright stepped away from the project, and was replaced at the helm by Peyton Reed. McKay was enlisted to work with star Paul Rudd on re-writing the script that had first been delivered by Wright and his collaborator Joe Cornish. With that partnership deemed a success, Vulture asked McKay if he would be performing similar duties on the sequel, Ant-Man And The Wasp.
“I’m talking to them. I just talked to Peyton [Reed, the director of Ant-Man] the other day. I’ve talked to [Paul] Rudd. I think they have a process they do where they bring a bunch of writers in and toss around ideas, so my hope is that they’ll write a script and I can rewrite it again, because that was a great way to work, and I got to really get my imprint on the movie and have a great time doing it. Kevin Feige knows I love Marvel, so I’m game. I grew up on it. Whatever they need, I’m there.”
It was reported that Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari had been tasked with writing a script for the film, so it may well be that Adam McKay gets his wish, and is able to work on their initial draft. Barrer previously wrote the 2014 film Haunt, which was executive produced by Ferrari, and the two have since collaborated on the script for the as-yet unreleased films Legend and Die In A Gunfight. They are also, reportedly, a part of the Transformers 5 writing team.
With regard to Adam McKay, writing is just one of many strings to his bow, of course – which raises the inevitable question of whether he would be interested in taking the helm of a Marvel project himself, at some point.
“Oh, heck yeah.”
What that hypothetical movie could ultimately be will undoubtedly be the subject of much hopeful speculation. In the meantime, we can be content that Adam McKay may well soon be adding his distinctive, beloved style to Ant-Man And The Wasp.
