We finally know what Edgar Wright’s “The World’s End” is about.
It’s funny, because even knowing Edgar casually and having spoken with him any number of times since the first mention of what will now be the conclusion of ‘the Cornetto trilogy,” I’ve never had any desire to push him for information on the film.
After all, I figure we’re not going to get endless collaborations between Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost, so I look at it as a very special thing when they do get together to work. “Shaun Of The Dead” was this great out-of-left-field lightning bolt moment, “Hot Fuzz” was all anticipation, and so for “The World’s End,” I’ve done my best to just sit back and relax and wait to see what it is when the time is finally right.
Evidently, that’s today.
Working Title has set a September date to start production on the film, which would seem to imply that Edgar Wright’s “Ant-Man” will not be joining the 2013 or 2014 release schedule for Marvel. And while I’m curious about the way the Marvel Universe is going to evolve in the next few years, I’ll admit that I’m much more excited about the possibility of Edgar reuniting with Frost and Pegg. It’s getting harder and harder to get the three guys in one place at the same time professionally, especially with Pegg now holding key roles in two ongoing big giant franchises.
I like that this sounds very character driven, at least from the description that Deadline ran today, and it’s the most concrete description of the movie yet.
20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World”s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind”s. Reaching The World”s End is the least of their worries.
Even with that much information all at once, I don’t know what the high-concept hook is that puts the future of humankind at jeopardy, and I don’t want to know. I’m happy to wait for a trailer, because I feel like this is one of those movies I don’t want to pre-digest completely before it comes out. One of the real drags about this job is that I frequently feel like I’ve seen 90% of a movie before I even sit down in the theater, and no matter what, that takes away from the experience. For movies that I am truly excited about, I want to know as little as I can get away with.
The article also mentions Edgar’s ongoing work to develop “The Night Stalker” for Disney and Johnny Depp, and I know they’re looking to get that rolling sooner rather than later. I can’t help but wonder if “Ant-Man” is going to fall by the wayside as Edgar focuses on other things. Whatever Wright does next, we’ll be there to see it, and it sounds like there are some truly great options available to him in the near future.