Ant-Man is kind of the dark horse of the Marvel franchises (well, him and the entirety of Guardians of the Galaxy). He’s one of the least recognizable characters for those of us who aren’t comic book fans and with a name like ‘Ant-Man,’ I think most of us were assuming that he would be something like Spider-Man, except with…ants. But with Edgar Wright on board as the director, I think that interest has been piqued.
Now, you can prepare for even more excitement as the casting shortlist for the film has hit the web (via Variety), and there are two very interesting names included on it.
Paul Rudd and Joseph Gordon-Levitt top the list, with a third and as yet unnamed actor sitting quietly in the shadows. Gordon-Levitt has already been associated with one comic book franchise, but that was a DC property. No reason why he can’t cross the comic divide and come over to Marvel. Rudd, meanwhile, is an odd choice. He’s never been associated with anything to do with Marvel, or comic books, and he seems like a bizarre actor to turn to for this role. Then again, Rudd has all-important comedy chops, which Edgar Wright greatly favors. So maybe he’s not as strange a choice as he initially appears.
Ant-Man is probably the superhero movie that I’m most interested to see – mostly because I like Edgar Wright – and so I feel that I can have a opinion on this one. I personally think that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be an excellent choice for the part of Hank Pym, and he’d fit in quite well with the rest of the slightly jokey but also serious actors and actresses of the other Marvel franchises. Rudd just seems too out there of a selection for me, and I’ve never been moved by him as an actor. Still, he could be an interesting and unexpected change.
Ant-Man is set to hit theatres July 31, 2015. We’ll keep an eye on future casting choices as they develop.
What do you think of Gordon-Levitt and Rudd as potential Ant-Man leads? Or do you want to see someone else don the costume? Let us know in the comments below.