The trailer for Ant-Man was released a couple of weeks ago and many were surprised by the sombre tone. Given the movie is directed by Peyton Reed (I Love You, Man) and written by Adam McKay (Anchorman) with Edgar Wright (The World’s End) and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) having also previously worked on the project, many thought it would be more comedic compared to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In fact, several of our writers (and the Flickering Myth Podcast) theorised that a more serious trailer had been cut to stick with the “Marvel style”, while the actual movie would be tonally different.
In an interview with Ant-Man star Judy Greer, she seemed to back up this theory, “I haven’t seen it yet but there was a lot of comedy on set and we did a lot of comedic improv,” she told IGN Movies.
“It was, in the beginning, a little scary,” she added when talking about her knowledge of comic books. “My first day on set for Ant-Man I did an interview and the guy asks me who my favourite superhero was. I said Batman and he goes, ‘That’s DC.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, sorry, Wonder Woman!’ and he goes, ‘That’s DC.’ So I called my agent and and literally he overnighted me this huge, beautiful hardcover book about all the Marvel superheroes and was like, ‘Some research for you.’ So I’ve been learning about Marvel. But they treat us really well and I really like the risks they’re taking with the comedy in their superhero movies kind of starting with Guardians of the Galaxy.”
“Paul [Rudd] is so awesome and he’s so great in this role,” she also adds. “This has been my first comic hero that I’ve really researched and fallen for. I also think the Ant-Man origin story that we tell in our movie is really beautiful and I think there’s something really real about a man trying to better himself for his family.”
Ant-Man is set for release on July 17th, 2015, and also stars Michael Douglas (Behind The Candelabra) as Dr. Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll (House of Cards) as Darren Cross / Yellowjacket, John Slattery (Iron Man 2) as Howard Stark, Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Peggy Carter and Bobby Cannavale (The Long Play), Michael Peña (American Hustle), Abby Ryder Fortson (Togetherness), David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight), Wood Harris (The Wire), Gregg Turkington (The Comedy) and T.I. (American Gangster) in as yet-unrevealed roles.You can also listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast review of the trailer for Ant-Man using the player below:
Originally published January 19, 2015. Updated July 3, 2023.
