During an interview with Film School Rejects, Ant-Man director Peyton Reed has spoken about the inclusion of Thomas the Tank Engine in the memorable climactic battle of the Marvel superhero blockbuster, discussing how the scene came about, and the conditions that were imposed by rights holder Mattel in order for Thomas to be included.
“I believe in Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish’s original drafts it was a train set,” states Reed. “At some point in the process that predated my involvement it became Thomas. As I came on, they had not secured the rights to Thomas. We had to do this whole thing where we did this presentation for the people who own the rights to Thomas. Thank God they agreed and found it funny, but there were definite stipulations. For example, nobody could be tied to the tracks and run over by Thomas. Thomas couldn’t be doing anything that could be perceived by children as evil Thomas. Thomas had to stay neutral in the battle, which was always our intention. Like anybody, they’re protective of their brand. I didn’t know what we were going to do if we didn’t get the rights to that. There are certain things I was going to be devastated about if we couldn’t have them. Thomas was one, because… you could do any kind of toy train, but the personality of that thing and the eyes moving back and forth give it a whole vibe and took it to another level.”
SEE ALSO: Peyton Reed reveals the original ending for Ant-Man
Ant-Man sees Peyton Reed (Down with Love) directing a cast that includes Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) as Scott Lang, 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, Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as Sam Wilson / Falcon, Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Maggie, Bobby Cannavale (The Long Play) as Paxton, Michael Peña (American Hustle) as Luis, Abby Ryder Fortson (Togetherness) as Cassie Lang, David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight) as Kurt, Wood Harris (The Wire) as Gale, T.I. (American Gangster) as Dave and Martin Donovan (Inherent Vice) as Mitchell Carson.
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Originally published July 26, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
