Of all the future Marvel movies that have been officially announced, Ant-Man is probably the one we know the least about. We’ve heard the names of a handful of actors who may or may not have been considered for roles, and we’ve also heard that it will be a heist movie of sorts, but that’s about it. A lot more information could be heading our way soon though, as casting for the film is supposed to be finalized by the end of the year.
Speaking with IGN ahead of the home release for The World’s End, Edgar Wright dished a bit of info on what he has planned for Ant-Man and how they’ve been going about casting the film.
“I’ve known Kevin Feige [Marvel Entertainment’s Co-President] for years and in that time I’ve always has this treatment, which is now becoming a movie. So the idea has never really wavered. And I think what me and Joe [Cornish] wrote, and what the people who have read it say, is that it really feels like a great Marvel yarn. And that was sort of the intention, but you will definitely also still see my stamp on it. The nice thing about doing one of these things is that I loved the comics growing up. So if I was making a Marvel movie, I would want it to feel like a Marvel comic.
You’ll see when you see the movie that we’ve definitely written interesting takes on different characters… Of course you need great actors, and I think that’s actually what they’ve done so far in their casting is actually kind of been to cast surprising actors. They haven’t gone for the most obvious people. I think from the first movie onwards. People forget that back in 2007 that Robert Downey Jr. was a gamble for them. Now when he’s the biggest star on the planet nobody remembers that. But it’s a great way to start and they’ve sort of continued with that casting throughout in terms of casting great people, and interesting people, and people you wouldn’t expect.”
While I’m all for casting someone interesting that people wouldn’t expect, I’m not sure if that will work quite as well for Ant-Man as it did for the previous Marvel movies. Without a huge name at the lead, I see this having the smallest draw of what Marvel has planned. The general public isn’t as familiar with the character, and if he’s being played by an actor they aren’t excited about, many may skip this one.
That being said, I think Ant-Man also has the potential to be one of the coolest Marvel films yet. With Edgar Wright at the helm I have little doubt that this will be an extremely fun movie, and making it a heist film is something I’m definitely excited about.
Wright also was asked about the test footage that played at Comic-Con and leaked onto the web shortly afterwards. He didn’t have much to say on the matter, but did say that’s a pretty good indication of what the film is going to be like. That test footage is what first got me really excited about this movie, so I’m glad to hear they aren’t wavering from that style too drastically.
With the end of the year quickly approaching, you can be sure that we’ll be hearing more Ant-Man news in the coming months. When we do, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
