Wait… is this actually going to happen?
I’m kidding, but only because it seems like Edgar Wright has been attached to “Ant-Man” for a while now. That’s the thing about the Marvel Studios game plan. They are willing to spend years developing something if they feel like the payoff will be worth it, and “Ant-Man” may have seemed like an unlikely pick at first.
The truth is that the character is a lynchpin to the Marvel Universe, and introducing him to the continuity is going to allow them to do all sorts of things. It’ll make it easier to bring in The Wasp, it will give Tony Stark an intellectual sparring partner, and it will open up a number of classic “Avengers” storylines.
By now, it’s clear that Joss Whedon’s plans for Ultron in “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” will introduce that character in a way that will break from his classic origin, where he was the creation of Hank Pym, who is the brilliant scientist also known as Ant-Man. After all, even though “Ant-Man” is currently scheduled for a summer 2015 release, it’s going to be after “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” opens.
So what, then, is Edgar Wright doing this week in Los Angeles?
Well, according to his Twitter feed, he’s doing this:
@edgarwright Now I’m back in LA, it’s high time to finish a little something I’ve been working on…
He’s also ranting and raving about how amazing “Gravity” is, and so far, it seems like other filmmakers are the ones that seem to grasp just how much of a landmark the film is. I think Cuaron’s magic trick is so good that many people don’t realize they’re seeing something that is genuinely brand-new, but other directors seem totally gobsmacked by what he accomplished. I love that, because I think anytime you see this happen, other filmmakers then respond by pushing their own visual language in new directions, and Edgar is more than capable of that anyway.
The promo reel that was featured at the 2012 Comic-Con of Ant-Man doing what Devin Faraci promptly dubbed “size-fu” was a pretty convincing proof of concept piece, so I’m not sure exactly what Edgar might be shooting at the moment. I don’t think they’ve started production on the actual film, and certainly not to the extent that Edgar would be talking about finishing it already, so maybe this is more test footage? Or maybe they’re preparing some sort of teaser trailer, or even shooting something they could attach to the end of “Thor: The Dark World” or “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
What’s clear is that he’s closer than he ever has been to making the film, and if he and Marvel weren’t all excited about what they were doing, that would not be the case. We’re about to start seeing some really big and eccentric choices from the studio, and it seems like they’re backing the filmmakers who are making those choices whole-heartedly. I love that there’s all sorts of weird just around the corner, and I can’t wait to see how this movie finally brings this crazy new corner of the Marvel Universe to life.
“Ant-Man” arrives in theaters July 31, 2015.