Ant-Man: The Movie is official!

[RIDDICK]

Geez ok ok, credit goes to Riddick

 

[cokebabies]

Neil Hamburger is going to be in this. While it will surely be in a tiny (ant-sized?) role, my mind still doesn't know how to process this.

 

[Natrix]

Looks like Howard Stark will be in this too.

Marvel's Ant-Man has announced several new castings, including rapper T.I., Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire), Judy Greer (Archer) and John Slattery (Mad Men).

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

Read that they've just started filming, other big 2015 like Terminator Genysis, Fantastic Four and Avengers 2 have already wrapped

 

[jye4ever]

https://badassdigest.com/2014/08/18/ant-man-has-started-filming/

Marvel has issued a press release announcing the commencement of filming on Ant-Man, a movie we all kind of thought was going to get canceled just a couple of months back. The production is currently in San Francisco, which is where they're shooting exteriors, before going to Atlanta for the bulk of filming.


The release doesn't mention who wrote the script, which is probably because Marvel is waiting until the WGA arbitrates correct credits. I can't imagine a situation where Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish don't get a credit - the basic structure of the story seems to still be theirs', as indicated by this synopsis:


Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.


That basic premise - Pym and Lang teaming up to pull a heist to get Pym Particles out of bad guy hands - is unique to the Wright/Cornish script and not from the comics at all. Credits for adapting material can be tricky and weird, but when a writer creates truly new situations/relationships they usually get credit. The question is who else gets their name on this one. I'll be following with some interest.


Meanwhile the press release also reveals a large number of actors who were previously unannounced, including rapper TI, Judy Greer and John Slattery. Readers of Latino Review will know how Slattery is being used - there's a flashback to earlier SHIELD days featuring Howard Stark, who is a rival of Hank Pym. Pym hates Stark, seeing him as a weapons-monger who makes the world a worse place. Who will Greer be playing - Lang's ex-wife?


Also new to the cast: Gregg Turkington, best known by his comedy name, Neil Hamburger. Bobby Cannavale has joined the cast, and I'm guessing it's in the role Patrick Wilson vacated - the new husband to Lang's ex-wife, and the cop who arrested the con man back in his con man days. Although is Lang still a con man? The script revisions that drove Wright off the project really softened his con man nature. The synopsis does indicate it's been put back in place. And Wood Harris, aka Avon Barksdale from The Wire, has joined the film as well. Harris and TI could be guys with criminal pasts who hang out with Michael Pena's character and get involved in some hijinks.


I hope this all works out. Peyton Reed, who has taken the thankless task of directing this troubled film, is not just a good guy, he's a really good filmmaker who has never had the chance to indulge his profound nerdy side. This is a guy who respects the Silver Age history of Ant-Man in a way that a lot of other directors wouldn't; this isn't a guy who took the job just to work. If Peyton Reed had been the first director announced for Ant-Man we'd all be ecstatic.


In the end I want a good movie. I'm bummed that Edgar Wright got kicked around by Marvel, seemingly a victim of pre-Guardians of the Galaxy jitters, and I wish I could see his movie. But I can't, so now I'm rooting for Ant-Man to be the best movie it can be.

 

[RIDDICK]

I just hope that Wright took his crappy visuals along while departing. I really do...
Fingers crossed.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I also heard that Zola, Peggy Carter and Alexander Pierce will be in the flashbacks. I call it now: Brad Pitt will play the younger Pierce in a great casting move by Marvel.

 

[karamazov80]

If Marvel could get Pitt, they wouldn't relegate him to a minor flashback role.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Reminds me of Tom Cruise in MI 4. Also, this first shot looks a bit dark and serous, interesting.

 

[hoodonit00]

I don't really think I'm going to have any interest in this film. With the wave of success that Marvel has been riding on though who thinks this is going to flop and knock them of their pedestal temporarily.

 

[MegaPrime33]

I thought guardians was going to flop or at the very least hold no interest for me, but I thought it was great. Paul Rudd is a great actor and it's nice to see him do something outside the comedy schtick. I see this being another great film.

 

[RIDDICK]

Gloomy shot there... Makes me even more excited!

 

[evenflow]

I don't really think I'm going to have any interest in this film. With the wave of success that Marvel has been riding on though who thinks this is going to flop and knock them of their pedestal temporarily.

I actually feel the same way. I hope we are wrong but it just doesn't have the same vibe as the other movies.

 

[karamazov80]

Way too soon to form much of an impression one way or the other. Yeah, there were some creative shakeups, but that could mean either a better or worse movie when all is said and done--we'll never know. As for the tone, again, we have no real idea. This is a movie where a heist will take place, apparently with a melancholic angle involving a down on his luck Rudd at some point in the film (apparently a divorce' who lives in an old van), Pym is an older guy who worked with Stark's dad and will team with Lang, director is an old school comic fan who wanted to do a comic movie for years now. . .not much to go on. But Feige knows what he's doing with this franchise, so I reckon I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I would say that several of the existing movies had very different tones. With the exception of the Incredible Hulk, one interlinking thread was that they were fun on some level, and casting Rudd in the lead suggests we'll get some more of that here.

 

[hoodonit00]

I thought guardians was going to flop or at the very least hold no interest for me, but I thought it was great. Paul Rudd is a great actor and it's nice to see him do something outside the comedy schtick. I see this being another great film.

I agree about GOTG. First preview I saw I thought WTH? I thought it was awesome. I like Paul Rudd as a comedic actor but as a super hero I don't know. Worked for Michael Keaton though so time will tell.

 

[karamazov80]

You could say the same for Robert Downey, Jr.

 

[Michael Crawford]

I don't really think I'm going to have any interest in this film. With the wave of success that Marvel has been riding on though who thinks this is going to flop and knock them of their pedestal temporarily.

I we talking about Ant-man or GotG? Seems like the same conversations are repeating...

I have to admit that Ant-man is a stretch, but they've been able to pull off some pretty big stretches so far. This one will test them, for sure.

 

[hoodonit00]

You could say the same for Robert Downey, Jr.

I think Stan Lee traveled into the future and based Tony Stark on Robert Downey Jr. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark.

 

[karamazov80]

I think that is the case now, but back in the day Stark was never as cool as RDJ made him, despite the womanizing and heavy drinking that he did.

 

[third3ye]

The Tony Stark I grew up reading and watching on cartoons was no where near as cool and entertaining as RDJ. He shaped the character for the big screen and now he owns it.