It has been almost seven months since Edgar Wright left ‘Ant-Man’ over creative differences. Though Peyton Reed has since stepped in to fill the director’s chair vacancy and production is well under way, everyone was extremely disappointed to hear that the fan favorite filmmaker behind ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World’ and the Cornetto Trilogy wouldn’t get to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after pouring years of work into the project. Even cast members and fellow Marvel directors such as Michael Douglas and Joss Whedon weighed in on the situation. But now, actress Evangeline Lilly shares her initial thoughts about the changing of the guard and what made her stick with the upcoming Phase Two finale.
In a recent profile on Buzzfeed, Lilly shared her story about how she nearly quit acting after ‘Real Steel’, but changed her mind thanks to Peter Jackson and his Hobbit trilogy. Although when she started to dabble in writing and her acting career began to become an afterthought once more, it was ‘Ant-Man’ that drew her back in because of the opportunity to work with Paul Rudd and Edgar Wright. So naturally when the divide between the director and the studio occurred, the actress held off on signing her contract until she got some answers:
“[I was] shocked and mortified, at first. Actually, I wouldn’t say mortified. You know, a creative project is a moving target. You never end up where you start. But we all, I think, signed on very enthusiastically with Edgar. We were excited to work with Edgar. We were fans of Edgar. So when the split happened, I was in the fortunate position where I had not signed my contract yet. So I had the choice to walk away, and I almost did. Because I thought, Well, if it’s because Marvel are big bullies, and they just want a puppet and not someone with a vision, I’m not interested in being in this movie. Which is what I was afraid of.”
However, answers came the day before she was scheduled for her costume fittings for the role of Hope Van Dyne (the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne AKA superheroes Ant-Man and The Wasp) as she received the new script and saw for herself what exactly went down:
“I saw with my own eyes that Marvel had just pulled the script into their world. I mean, they’ve established a universe, and everyone has come to expect a certain aesthetic [and] a certain feel for Marvel films. And what Edgar was creating was much more in the Edgar Wright camp of films. They were very different. And I feel like, if [Marvel] had created Edgar’s incredible vision — which would have been, like, classic comic book — it would have been such a riot to film [and] it would have been so much fun to watch. [But] it wouldn’t have fit in the Marvel Universe. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb, no matter how good it was. It just would have taken you away from this cohesive universe they’re trying to create. And therefore it ruins the suspended disbelief that they’ve built.”
While I’m sure that many, many Wright fans are still disappointed that we won’t get to see his version of ‘Ant-Man’ after being teased about it for years, but when you look at the situation that Lilly laid out here, it’s hard to hold a grudge. Sure, this movie could finally be the chink in the mighty Marvel armor, but people said that about ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ at one point and look how that turned out. The bottom line here is that Marvel Studios has a plan and they haven’t let us down before, so we should have a little faith. After all, we are finally getting ‘Ant-Man’ and Edgar Wright will still go on to make excellent films in his own way. That sounds like a near win-win.
What do you think about Evangeline Lilly’s comments about the ‘Ant-Man’ situation? After reading that, are you still mad at Marvel Studios for parting ways with Edgar Wright? Let us know in the comments below.
‘Ant-Man’ starring Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Corey Stoll flies into theaters on July 17, 2015.
