After director Edgar Wright's recent departure from Marvel's “Ant-Man,” will the studio still make the film's summer 2015 release date?
Marvel president Kevin Feige may be having a difficult time getting the already-risky film back on track, according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources.
Wright and Marvel split last week, “due to differences in their vision” on the superhero. Apparently, Feige had been increasingly unsure of the “Shaun of the Dead” director's vision and ordered several re-writes from Wright and his co-writer Joe Cornish (“Attack the Block”), pushing back the film's original production start date of early June to the tail-end of July.
Following Wright's departure, the start date has been pushed back even further, as Marvel scrambles to find a new director.
Besides finding a new director who can pick up where Wright left off after nearly a decade in development (Marvel hired him for the gig way back in 2006), several of the film's key members also need to be replaced after they exited the film in the wake of the production delay.
The report adds that star Paul Rudd is still attached, however.
This isn't the first time Marvel has butted heads with creative figures. Director Patty Jenkins was fired from “Thor: The Dark World,” while actors Edward Norton (“The Incredible Hulk”) and Terrence Howard (“Iron Man”) were replaced by Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle, respectively, for follow-up films.
More recently, “Daredevil” showrunner Drew Goddard was replaced by Steven S. DeKnight, although the former will still receive an executive producer credit.
“Ant-Man's” cast also includes Patrick Wilson, Michael Douglas and Matt Gerald.
“Ant-Man” is currently scheduled to open July 17, 2015.
Joss Whedon's “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” will hit theaters first in May 1, 2015.