Marvel is riding high with ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ continuing to pack theaters almost a month into its run, and only slipping from the #1 spot for one week, when ‘Rio 2’ debuted. (The Captain reclaimed the top spot the following week, with ‘Rio 2’ slipping to #2.) But will Marvel’s winning streak continue as they delve into their more obscure properties? ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ comes up to bat toward the end of the summer with Edgar Wright’s long-gestating ‘Ant-Man’ finally infesting theaters next year. (The film actually began development before the first ‘Iron Man’ if that gives you an idea how long this movie has been in the works.)
So has the film been overhauled since its original conception? Actually, according to producer Kevin Feige, not really. “A little bit [changed]. Not much. There’s been a little bit of connective tissue that wouldn’t have been there in in his draft ten years ago. We changed, frankly some of the MCU to accommodate this version of Ant-Man. Knowing what we wanted to do with Edgar and with Ant-Man, going years and years back, helped to dictate what we did with the roster for Avengers the first time. It was a bit of both in terms of his idea for the Ant-Man story influencing the birth of the MCU in the early films leading up to Avengers.”
In the comics, it’s the damaged Hank Pym/Ant-Man (a.k.a. Dr. Pym, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket and The Wasp) who creates the villainous android Ultron, who it turns out will be the major threat in the second ‘Avengers’ movie, ‘Age of Ultron’. However, with that sequel set to appear before ‘Ant-Man’, logistically, Ant-Man won’t appear until his own movie. Therefore it appears that Tony Stark will actually be the creator of the evil robot.
Feige elaborates saying, “It was two things – a story Edgar wanted to tell that we’ll see with Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd, and now we’re 11 films in, it’s looking at the characters we’ve already introduced who already have the technology and the brains to do…certain things [Laughs].” Sounds like Stark to me.
Finally, when addressing Paul Rudd’s casting as the younger Ant-Man, Scott Lang, the producer pointed to the character’s comic book origins. “Look at that origin of the petty crook who comes into contact with a suit and does his best to make good, and then look at someone like Paul Rudd, who can do slightly unsavory things like break into people’s houses and still be charming and who you root for and whose redemption you will find satisfaction in.”
Are you excited to see the Ant-Man story hit the big screen? Will this pint-sized hero manage to live up to the legacy established by Iron Man, Thor and Captain America? Would you like to see Scott Lang join The Avengers in a third movie? Comment below!
Sources: Blastr, Comic Book Movie
