UPDATE: I guess it’s time to wait for an official announcement as Variety has now jumped the gun as talks with Adam McKay to direct Ant-Man were apparently not as “advanced” as they reported earlier. McKay tweeted the following earlier today.
https://twitter.com/GhostPanther/statuses/472823583236845568
So I guess that leaves the door open for Thurber who was previously said to be the frontrunner by TheWrap.com. I’ll wait to report on this again until someone actually has the job, not just “in talks”. The original story follows.
Yesterday it was announced Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Other Guys), Rawson Thurber (We’re the Millers) and Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) were the three top contenders to replace Edgar Wright as director on Ant-Man. Almost immediately after the news broke, TheWrap.com reported Thurber was the top contender for the spot when only hours later Ain’t It Cool News reported Marvel and Disney had extended an offer to McKay (pictured with Will Ferrell). So what’s the truth?
This morning Variety reports McKay as the director almost as fact, writing “McKay is in advanced talks to replace Edgar Wright as helmer on Ant-Man” and it seems his long-standing relationship with star Paul Rudd may have been a big factor. It certainly would help in calming the waters if any of the cast, especially the film’s lead, got a little antsy. It also brings some screenwriting talent to the table as McKay is not only a “Saturday Night Live” writing alum, but has movies such as Anchorman, it’s sequel and The Other Guys to his credit.
The film’s production start has been delayed from June 2 to July 28 as several key crew members left with Wright, but the plan is to still hit that July 17, 2015 release date. Along with Rudd, the cast includes Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Patrick Wilson and Corey Stoll.
As I wrote yesterday, I fully expected this to go to either Thurber or Fleischer, but I completely overlooked the McKay and Rudd relationship, which is likely what made the decision much easier for McKay, whom I assumed wouldn’t be interested in working in such a controlled environment.
Given the turmoil this has now become something of a curiosity, it will be interesting to see how it all turns out and how well Marvel is at righting the ship.
