So who is going to direct Marvel's Ant-Man?
The circus that has become Marvel's Ant-Man continues. A few months back it a very much anticipated movie with Edgar Wright at the helm. A few weeks removed from Wright's departure, we are nowhere nearer to finding who will in fact direct this somewhat poisoned chalice.
So what's happened? First off, Edgar Wright decided to step down from directing duties citing 'creative differences.' Word got round that it was down to possible script re-writes that spelt the end for Wright, who wasn't comfortable with Marvel's interference.
Then, the internet movie community set about naming near enough any director under the sun in replacing Wright.
Surprising most, it was Anchorman helmer Adam McKay who Marvel sat down with first to discuss taking over the reigns. This conversation broke down as McKay had too much on his plate for him to make room for the project. McKay has an incredibly busy slate in the coming years, with him stating that nothing was ever really in concrete before the meeting took place. It was merely a conversation to see if he'd be interested or willing to back out of one of his already committed projects. It wasn't to be and McKay is out of the running.
Yesterday, word broke that Rawson Thurber, who directed the successful comedy We're The Millers, has also rejected the offer from Marvel to direct Ant-Man. Thurber's reasons for declining the offer was scheduling conflicts, the same reasons McKay declined.
This is a huge blow for Marvel who've had two directors in the same week reject the project. Marvel need to resolve this issue fast before Ant-Man becomes a lame duck. Losing Wright was a huge sucker punch. Wright's style was a match made in heaven for Marvel. His vision very much suits Marvel films but obviously, he prefers a hands on approach with his films and you can't blame him for walking away if that wasn't the case anymore. McKay was a shot in the dark, much the same with Thurber. Marvel must of known they both had other projects in the pipeline and were merely hoping they'd postpone one of them to make room for Ant-Man.
With this merry-go-round very much still in full flow, who exactly is left for Marvel to approach?
RUBEN FLEISCHER
After Wright's departure, a potential shortlist began to make the rounds. This shortlist consisted of McKay, Thurber and Ruben Fleischer. With McKay and Thurber both rejecting, this leaves Fleischer the next one to be approached, right? So far, Fleischer has not been contacted according to reports, but it was also reported that Fleischer may well be in line to direct the third Ghostbusters movie (read here: http://bit.ly/1kmDCfa ). But that is nowhere near certain. The report states that Fleischer isn't too keen on accepting a large project right now as he has just become a father and wants to spend time with his family. If he is to reject the Ghostbusters 3 gig, expect him to reject the Ant-Man one too— both fall into the same large project category.
Nicholas stoller
Two new names have been thrown into the mix these past few days, one of them being Neigbors director Nicholas Stoller. Neighbors has been a great success for Stoller and is no doubt a big reason behind why he has been linked with possibly overseeing Ant-Man. But you'd have to think Stoller wouldn't accept this project? It doesn't strike us a Stoller type movie, plus he's scheduled to helm a comedy starring Kevin Hart and Seth Rogen in the near future, as well as few animated films. Taking on a director for hire movie wouldn't be a wise move considering the success of Neighbors. He's in a position to negotiate his next move in whatever direction he sees fit as a reward.
Michael dowse
The second new name to be rumoured is Goon director, Michael Dowse. This is a surprise name, but could be a good fit. The Goon was a moderate success and is a fairly underrated film. Dowse made good work of the Goon that will no doubt get a sequel. Dowse's next film is the upcoming What If starring Daniel Radcliffe, which has been getting a nice bit of buzz within the film community. So with What If to hit cinemas in August and a Goon sequel probably on it's way, there is room for manoeuvre for Dowse to fit Ant-Man into his upcoming schedule. If he was to be offered Ant-Man, it would be a step up in calibre for him.
Whoever Marvel decide to approach next is totally up in the air. If they're going to make the scheduled July 2015 release— which would mean filming would have to start soon— Marvel need to resolve this issue promptly.
