In the extensive lists of superhero movies that we can expect to hit theatres in the next few years – right up until 2021, if Marvel has their way – perhaps the most confusing one to those of us outside the comics sub-culture is Ant-Man. Is he a man who turns into an ant? What’s the fun of that? I now know that he grows bigger and smaller, but that’s really about it. With director Edgar Wright at the helm, even my little cynical self has to admit to being intrigued by the prospects of Ant-Man and how it will measure up to other films in the Marvel Universe.
Wright recently explained to The Huffington Post (via /Film) how his superhero movie would work alongside other Marvel films like Avengers: Age of Ultron. This is especially important given that Ant-Man actually invents Ultron in the comics:
[Ultron] was never in my script. Because even just to sort of set up what Ant-Man does is enough for one movie. It’s why I think “Iron Man” is extremely successful because it keeps it really simple. You have one sort of — the villain comes from the hero’s technology. It’s simple. So I think why that film really works and why, sometimes, superhero films fail — or they have mixed results — because they have to set up a hero and a villain at the same time. And that’s really tough. And sometimes it’s unbalanced.
So apparently, as has been reported before, they’re reinventing the origin of Ultron. Good to know. I, for one, was very concerned.
Wright further hints that Ant-Man will likely be an origin story of sorts:
You know, when I was younger I used to love Tim Burton’s “Batman.” I was like 15 and even then I was aware, “This is really the Joker’s film.” It’s like, the Joker just takes over and Batman, you really don’t learn too much about him. Comics have years to explain this stuff and in a movie you have to focus on one thing. So it’s about kind of streamlining, I think. Some of the most successful origin films actually have a narrower focus. You cannot put 50 years of the Marvel universe into a movie. It’s impossible.
Interesting. While I’m usually against origin stories on principle (how many times can we see the origin of Batman and Superman, I ask you?), the origin of Ant-Man is so little known beyond comic book fans that it might be helpful. Wright’s comparison to Iron Man and his recognition that he can’t condense an entire 50 years of comic books into a single film is a nice touch. He’s being humble about this, but he’s also obviously passionate about the project.
We can expect to see Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man in November 2015, which means there’s still time for lots of speculation on casting and plot details. I’m still hoping for Simon Pegg in the lead. That would be an interesting change.
What do you think of what Wright has to say? Are you looking forward to Ant-Man? Leave a comment!
