Ant-Man (film)

Ant-Man is an upcoming British-American Superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name: Scott Lang and Hank Pym, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film is intended to be the twelfth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Edgar Wright is set to direct a screenplay written by himself and Joe Cornish, with Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas starring as Lang and Pym, respectively. The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in mid-2014 in Fayette County. Ant-Man is scheduled to be released on July 17, 2015.

Cast

 * Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man: A superhero who can change size via an invented substance and can communicate with insects.
 * Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym: A scientist who invents the technology that makes Ant-Man's transformation possible. Douglas compared his decision to join a superhero film to his role in Behind the Candelabra saying, "Sometimes—like [when] they didn't see you for Liberace—you've got to shake them up a little bit and have some fun."

Additionally, Michael Peña has been cast in an undisclosed role.

Development
Development of an Ant-Man film began as early as the late 1980s, when Ant-Man co-creator Stan Lee pitched the idea to New World Entertainment, Marvel Comics' parent company at the time. However, Walt Disney Pictures was developing a film based on a similar concept, Honey, and although Ant-Man went into development, nothing came to fruition.

In April 2006, Marvel Studios hired Edgar Wright to direct Ant-Man as part of the company's first slate of independently produced films, buoyed by a $525 million revolving film-financing facility. Wright also signed to co-write the screenplay, based on a comic book series about an electronics expert who can shrink to the size of an insect and communicate with ants via a telepathic / cybernetic helmet, with his writing partner Joe Cornish and to co-produce the film with his Big Talk Productions partner, Nira Park.

At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said he was intrigued by the story's high concept and character. Wright also stressed that the film will not be a spoof but an action-adventure with some comedic elements and would incorporate both the Henry "Hank" Pym and Scott Lang incarnations of the character. At the time, Wright said that he was looking to "do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60's, in sort of Tales to Astonish mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang's story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him." Wright also revealed that he had originally been approached by Artisan Entertainment in the early 2000s, who held rights to some of Marvel's lesser-known titles, to create a film for them, and Ant-Man stood out. He added that he and Cornish wrote a treatment for it revolving around the Scott Lang character, who was a burglar. Artisan came back to them and said it did not fit the "family" image they wanted for the film, and the treatment never got sent to Marvel. In February 2007, Wright said that the project was in "a holding pattern" while the script was being revised. He also said that he had been doing research for the film, stating "Obviously I can't interview anyone that's got shrinking serum, [but] in terms of who the characters are though – yeah. Nanotechnology and all that." In March 2008, Wright reported that the first draft of the script had been completed and he was working on the second.

In February 2010, Stan Lee tweeted that he met with Wright for lunch, writing "To make up for my previous grievous error, here's a little item that may have escaped you. Marvel is prepping a movie starring-- Ant Man!". Lee continued, "I had lunch with the cool, young director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and, as you'd imagine, we had fun discussing the tiny hero". Later in the week Wright told MTV News that there was no timetable for the film "Because that character isn't one of their biggest properties, it's not like a tentpole deadline ... It's more like me and [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige saying, 'Let's make a really good script.' We've always agreed on that — 'Let's make a good script that works, that's all about a great genre film, and that isn't necessarily relying on anything else'". At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said that his Ant-Man script is an origin story and would not fit in the chronology of the film The Avengers.

In January 2011, Wright stated that he has resumed writing the script for the film following the conclusion of the international promotion for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In April 2011, screenwriter Joe Cornish said that he and Wright delivered the second draft of Ant-Man to Marvel. At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said "Since February, we've done two drafts of the script, and we just handed in a third draft".

In May 2012, Feige said that the project was "as close as it's ever been" while Wright teased the film by tweeting a pictogram of Ant-Man. In June 2012, Wright spent just under a week shooting footage for a reel that would be used to test out the potential look and tone of his movie, as well as to decide how convincing Ant-Man's powers look on screen. At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright stated that Ant-Man would be happening and screened the test footage to the audience during the Marvel Studios panel. In October 2012, Marvel Studios and Disney scheduled the film for release on November 6, 2015.

In January 2013, Feige stated that Ant-Man would be part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In May 2013, Feige indicated that the screenplay needed to be modified in order to fit into the universe because the project had been in development before the first Iron Man film. Feige also stated that shooting was slated to begin sometime in 2014, and that casting would begin towards the end of 2013. In July 2013, Wright said that he and Cornish had completed the script for the film and that Marvel allowed him to delay its production so that he could complete The World's End, as the film's producer Eric Fellner was diagnosed with cancer.

In August 2013 after Joss Whedon, director of Avengers: Age of Ultron, announced that Henry Pym would not be Ultron's creator, Wright said Ultron was never a part of the story of Ant-Man. Wright elaborated, "[Ultron] was never in my script. Because even just to sort of set up what Ant-Man does is enough for one movie", and described Ant-Man as a stand-alone film. He said it will fit into to the larger continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explaining that "It is pretty standalone in the way we’re linking it to the others. I like to make it standalone because I think the premise of it needs time. I want to put the crazy premise of it into a real world, which is why I think Iron Man really works because it’s a relatively simple universe; it’s relatable. I definitely want to go into finding a streamlined format where you use the origin format to introduce the main character and further adventures can bring other people into it." Also in August, Wright stated that pre-production for Ant-Man would begin in October and filming would begin in 2014. In September 2013, Disney moved the film's release date from November 6, 2015 to July 31, 2015.

Pre-production
In October 2013, Wright tweeted a photograph from the production of the June 2012 test reel with the caption, "Now I'm back in LA, it's high time to finish a little something I've been working on." Later in the month, Variety reported that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd were front-runners being considered for the lead role. Gordon-Levitt responded to the report, saying, "There are always rumors. I talk a lot about my future projects, so if you haven't heard me talk about it, it means it's nothing but a rumor." Also in October, Kevin Feige stated that Ant-Man will be a "heist movie" and to expect a casting announcement for Hank Pym before the end of 2013. He also stated that production is expected to begin in mid-2014.

In November 2013, Feige stated that aspects of Eric O'Grady's Ant-Man would not be featured in the film. Later in the month, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Rudd is the frontrunner to play Henry Pym, and casting is underway for Pym's girlfriend. Also in November, it was reported that the film was intended to be shot in the UK but the filmmakers were unable to film there because of lack of studio space. Wright said, "Ironically, Ant-Man was meant to shoot in London but London is full because I guess that Pinewood extension got turned down," referring to the plan by Pinewood Shepperton to add 15 studios to their facility but was rejected in part by the local council in May 2013 because the project was eyeing protected land. Screen Rant reported that the film will be shot in the US instead.

In December 2013, Wright, a fan of the comic book since childhood — owning copies of Tales to Astonish #27 featuring the "The Man in the Ant-Hill" storyline and Marvel Premiere #47 featuring the first appearance of Scott Lang, spoke about the difference between Ant-Man and other films featuring size-changing saying, "The difference between Ant-Man and other shrinking movies is other shrinking movies are usually about somebody trapped small. This is different in that he can actually change size and he can do that at will, so it becomes more of a power than an impediment." Wright also talked about the challenge of directing a superhero film saying, "It's a challenge to do. Shaun and Hot Fuzz and World’s End are all R-rated films. I like the challenge of making a PG-13 film. Because you've got to entertain in a different way. You don't have the same tools. It's also different in terms of Scott Pilgrim. They’re both adaptations. It's nice to be able to do an adaptation." Later in the month, it was reported that Rudd was in negotiations to star in the film. The following day, Marvel announced that Rudd had been cast as Ant-Man.

In January 2014, Wright posted a screenshot on his blog from the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "To Steal an Ant-Man", which features Hank Pym and introduces the Scott Lang character, with the caption "homework". On January 13, Michael Douglas was cast as Hank Pym and Rudd was confirmed to play Lang. The following day, The Wrap reported that Michael Peña was offered an unspecified role in the film, while The Hollywood Reporter reported he had entered early negotiations. Later in the month, it was reported that filming would take place at Pinewood Atlanta in Fayette County. Also in January, Disney changed the release date once again, moving the film up to July 17, 2015 from July 31, 2015. In February 2014, Evangeline Lilly entered early talks to portray the female lead and Peña was confirmed to have joined the cast. In February 2014, Wright announced on his blog that Bill Pope, who he worked with on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The World's End, would be his director of photography.

Music
In February 2014, Wright tweeted that Steven Price will score the film.