"I met with Paul [Rudd] in a little restaurant in New York City, and he talked me through how the movie was changing,” explains “Ant-Man” female lead Evangeline Lilly to Empire Magazine. “I think the most defining difference between the two scripts was that [Edgar Wright's] didn't take itself as seriously. It was fun and silly and brilliantly irreverent - a romp from beginning to end, in classic English fashion. Whereas where we've gotten to is so much more American. There's tons of levity, but just as much emotion."
Comments from Peyton Reed, who replaced Wright as director of Marvel's “Ant-Man,” would seem to confirm that the movie we’re getting on July 17 will indulge more drama than we might have gotten with a movie overseen by Wright. "Was it a strange situation? Absolutely," Reed tells Empire. "One of my concerns upfront was, 'Someone else has developed this movie for a really long time. Can I come in and make it my own?' And that has absolutely been the case. For one thing Marvel has let me explore the dark side of Hank Pym, this tortured, guilt-ridden guy. I love that this is a mentor/pupil story, but with a fucked up pupil and a really fucked up mentor."
So here’s the crazy thing. Reed (“Down With Love,” “The Break-Up,” “Yes Man”) is not widely associated with heavy drama. And drafts of the “Ant-Man” script subsequent to Wright’s departure were written by Rudd and his “Anchorman” writer-director (and longtime SNL head writer) Adam McKay, whose movies generally peg the silly meter. “Anchorman.” “Talladega Nights.” “Step Brothers.” “The Other Guys.” “Anchorman 2.” All arguably sillier than Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “Scott Pilgrim” and “The World’s End.”
So was it Rudd, who had a hand in scripting “Role Models,” who brought more “emotion” to “Ant-Man”?
Maybe, maybe not. McKay’s next movie as writer-director should be a big departure from his earlier directorial work, a comedy-drama based on Michael Lewis’ not-as-silly book “The Big Short” about the worldwide financial collapse of 2008. Maybe McKay used “Ant-Man” to help train his narrative muscles to stretch beyond comedy?
Find Comic Book Movie’s summary of Empire’s “Ant-Man” piece here.
