We complete our countdown to The World’s End as Jackson Ball looks forward to the long-gestating Ant-Man….
Way back in 2006, Edgar Wright appeared at Comic-Con to discuss the possibility of a film adaptation for Marvel’s Ant-Man. Here we are seven years later though, and production still hasn’t begun for the film. Seven years is a long time in Hollywood, as Wright himself is first to acknowledge, claiming ‘I’m taking the Terence Malik approach to superheroes,’ at last year’s convention.
Despite the wait though, Ant-Man has started to pick up the pace recently, and we now even have an official release date of the 6th November 2015. Fans among you will have noticed that this date means that the film hits our screens after Avengers 2, thus commencing Marvel’s ‘Phase Three’. Not only that, but the director has also treated us with some initial test footage [which you can watch here], giving us an early indication of how Marvel’s size-changing hero might translate to the screen.
So what should we expect from Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man? Well, it will obviously be an origin story, but not necessarily the one you may be expecting. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the original comic-book story, it follows biophysicist Henry Pym, who discovers the ability to alter his size at will, thus becoming Ant-Man. While Wright is a self-confessed fan of the comics, he has stated that he is not afraid to stray from the source material. The director sees Ant-Man’s relative obscurity as a blessing, believing that it will allow him artistic licence when adapting the character’s origin story.
Secondly, there will be plenty of humour but none of it self-deprecating. Despite early notions of the film being a parody comedy (given the director’s back-catalogue, and the silliness associated with the character), Wright has since denied that the film will be spoof. That being said, Wright is famous for saturating his movies with wit, as is his Ant-Man writing partner Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), so expect a fair share of laughs.
Finally we can expect high levels of fast-paced action, if the test footage is anything to go by. The 40 second test reel was nothing but action, showing the hero incapacitating a couple of secret-service types with his shrinking abilities. Action in a Marvel film may be taken as a given, but with Wright behind the camera you can expect it to be captured in a fresh and energetic way. The fight scenes from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World are great examples of how Wright uses cinematography and editing to create the effect of a moving comic strip on the screen.
With the Cornetto Trilogy done and dusted, Ant-Man marks the beginning of a new chapter for Edgar Wright, and perhaps even for Marvel. One thing is for sure though: his flair and creativity are bound to make Ant-Man like nothing else we’ve seen before.
Jackson Ball – follow me on Twitter.
Originally published July 18, 2013. Updated December 13, 2019.
