STAR TREK 3 Directors Short-List Has Abrams Approved Rupert Wyatt As Paramount's Top Choice

Now that we've seen Paramount come to their senses and Roberto Orci step-down as director of Star Trek 3, more potential replacements have been revealed. Deadline is reporting that directors like Rupert Wyatt (The Gambler, Rise of The Planet of The Apes), Morten Tyldum (Intimidation Game, Headhunters), Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Snabba Cash, Child 44), Justin Lin (Fast And Furious 3-6) and Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft) are new names on a studio short-list. Wyatt reportedly being the top choice for the gig.

Previously mentioned candidate Edgar Wright isn't named in this grouping.

While my first pick here would be sci-fi savy Duncan Jones. I can understand why the studio would want Rupert Wyatt to direct. Considering, he's already helped Fox reboot their Planet of The Apes franchise. It's possible that he could help push the Trek franchise past a trilogy.



This isn't the first time his name has been in the mix for the third installment. Originally, he had been in the rumormill as a possible candidate. J.J. Abrams spoke to HitFix in 2013, about the potential of hiring Rupert to replace him as director. It also doesn't hurt he just worked with Paramount for his remake of The Gambler.

"I know Rupert and he's incredibly talented and we'd be lucky to have someone as talented as Rupert. But there are things we're focusing on right now before the director, which is just sort of the fundamentals of where the story is gonna go."

Justin Lin would be interesting as well, only problem he's played this game before. Lin attaching himself to projects like Highlander, Terminator 5 and others just to jump-ship. He's currently lined-up to helm the Bourne Legacy sequel with Jeremy Renner, but it's been delayed due to Matt Damon's return to the franchise. That said, he's helped build-up the Fast And Furious franchise to new levels of fandom and is said to be returning for it's finale.





SOURCE: DEADLINE

Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Brad Bird And Lord/Miller On Sony's List To Reboot SPIDER-MAN

TheDailyBeast has picked-up on the biggest news concerning Sony's Spider-Man reboot. A list of directors and writers that could help pump new blood into the failing franchise. The email from November between Amy Pascal and producer Jeff Robinov (Her, Don Jon, The Master) suggests the reboot rehashing the origin (something we don't want a third time). Including a wish-list of directors who feels he could reboot the franchise with. Robinov isn't the only producer making a pitch to Sony, we know The Russo Brothers have also made an offer.

Below is the crazy awesome list of director hopefuls Robinov was considering.

Brad Bird, Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee (Frozen), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love), James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), Don Hall & Chris Williams (Big Hero 6), Phil Lord & Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie), Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki), Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World), Edgar Wright, and David Yates, of Harry Potter franchise fame.

I think Edgar Wright might be done with Marvel properties for while and Brad Bird is wishful thinking. However, we do have confirmation Wright is a fan, as seen above rocking a Spidey halloween costume.

James Gunn is an interesting one, mainly because Spider-Man villain Venom has connections to both Guardians of The Galaxy and Thunderbolts. The latter team could get a film if Gunn got his way, as he's been mulling-over a potential feature adaptation. It's unknown if will be ever happen, but it's to think what Gunn could do with the Spider-Verse and connecting it to the MCU. It's just unlikely since he's way too busy with getting a Guardians sequel ready for May 2017.

I'm sort of rooting for Phil Lord and Chris Miller here, since they've proved the can handle all types of comedy and action with Lego Movie, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and Jump Street. Sony has been trying to get the pair to run their animation division, along with making an animated Spidey film. Having excellent relationship with Sony could help them greatly moving forward. If Marvel does or doesn't help with the new films, I think they could collaborate greatly with those producers. The directors get characters, diversity, gender-equality, action sequences and comedy. If you ask me the perfect type of creatives to handle a reboot like this.

Will Lord/Miller get the bump from Sony to make the live-action reboot?

Jeff Robinov's new origin pitch would have a direct connection to Kraven The Hunter, a fan-favorite villain who has never made it into the films. Kraven is expected for the lineup for Drew Goddard's Sinister Six lineup. He's also suggesting that Spider-Man become an adult, is this where Ryan Gosling fits in?

I might suggest looking at what is widely thought to be the most beloved Spider-Man storyline of all time – “Kraven’s Last Hunt” – which ran across Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, and Web of Spider-Man #31-32. (In fact, Comic Book Resources polled their readers in 2012, and this storyline was voted as the single greatest Spider-Man storyline of all time.) 

In it, Kraven the Hunter tracks down Spider-Man, shoots him repeatedly, and leaves him for dead, buried underground. He then dons a Spider-Man costume and savagely starts attacking criminals.

SOURCE: DAILYBEAST

ANTMAN Wraps Principle Photography And Concept Artwork For Villain Yellow Jacket

Director Peyton Reed has taken to Twitter to confirm that principle photography on Marvel's Ant-Man has wrapped. The heist film will be released on July 17th, 2015, which was originally the spot reserved for Batman v Superman before moving to 2016.. The cast includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Corey Stoll (seen above), Michael Pena, Judy Greer, John Slattery, Bobby Cannavale, T.I. and Hayley Atwell.

And that's it! Principal photography on ANT-MAN is now complete. The ants have left the building. Stay tuned... pic.twitter.com/xj5h9qFyo6
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) December 6, 2014

Edgar Wright, who was set to write and direct the film controversially exited the film, and had his script he co-wrote with Joe Cornish completely rewritten by Adam McKay, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. Peyton Reed was hired to replace Wright and was able to pull everything together to make it work. A trailer should be expected for the Super Bowl, as Marvel will need to make audiences aware of the extremely obscure Marvel hero early-on.

There are also images of concept art (could also be art from the Hasbro line of toys) of the film's villain Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll) making the rounds online. Below you can see these images which look extremely similar to style used for Ant-Man's concept art poster from SDCC14. Along with a shot of Paul Rudd from recent pick-up shots.

SOURCE: TWITTER

Production On STAR TREK 3 Halted As Roberto Orci Exits And Edgar Wright Linked To Replace

This was a bad idea from the start. Deadline is reporting that first-time director Roberto Orci has exited the director's chair on Paramount's Star Trek 3. Details for the exit aren't being reported, but I've heard he bullied his way onto the job and creative differences have lead to the exit. Originally, directors like Attack The Block's Joe Cornish were in talks to direct. One of the new directors on the studio's shortlist is Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of The Dead, The World's End, Hot Fuzz), who recently exited Marvel's Ant-Man over creative difference.

I hear that that exit was due to Wright's unwillingness to include elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel films into his script. Edgar Wright wouldn't be a stranger to the Star Trek set as he directed a few shots in Into Darkness, during the fight between Khan and the Klingons. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that Cornish and Wright are frontrunners for the gig. You might remember that Edgar Wright had also been on Paramount's radar to direct Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Marvel Announces New Cast For ANT-MAN, Will Howard Stark And 1960's S.H.I.E.L.D. Play A Role?

Marvel has announced that cameras has begun to roll-on Ant-Man in San Francisco, which is directed by Payton Reed. Our primary cast consists of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, Evangeline Lily as Hope Van Dyne (daughter of Pym) and Corey Stoll as the main villain Darren Cross aka Yellow Jacket.

The new additions mentioned in the press release include Michael Pena (finally confirmed by Marvel), Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Blue Jasmine), Judy Greer (Archer, Descendants, Jurassic World, Dawn of The Planet of The Apes), John Slatterty, David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, Prisoners), Abby Ryder Fortson, Gregg Turkington, and for some reason rapper T.I. (Takers).

John Slattery's (Mad Men) addition might be the confirmation we've been waiting for, as he played the original 60's version of Howard Stark in Iron Man 2. Bringing him back, gives us the impression that S.H.I.E.L.D. and Howard Stark will indeed play a role in the film. It's unknown what the actual timeline of the film will be, but it's expected we would see a younger version of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) kicking-ass as Ant-Man in the 1960s, possibly for S.H.I.E.L.D. We've been hearing that the rewrites were happening to include Pym's connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. and place Ant-Man into the greater lineage of the MCU.

There is talk from BadassDigest that Judy Greer  will play the ex-wife of Lang (Rudd) and Bobby Cannavale might be replacing Patrick Wilson as her new husband, a cop that also arrested Lang. I have to assume that child-actor Abby Ryder Fortson will be playing Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott. Cassie had been rumored since Edgar Wright's involvement, and seems to be a role that could develop in the future.

SOURCE: MARVEL

Edgar Wright To Direct Sony's GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE And Will Make BABY DRIVER Next

Deadline reports that Sony's Matt Tolmach (Amazing Spider-Man 1-2) has tapped Edgar Wright (Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, World's End) to direct the film adaptation of Andrew Smith's novel Grasshopper Jungle. It's a big move for Edgar Wright, who just parted-ways with Marvel Studios over Ant-Man rewrites. A project he had been working on for almost a decade. Grasshopper Jungle sounds interesting enough of a concept, and seems like familiar ground for Wright.

"Grasshopper Jungle, which is best described as Stand By Me meets Attack The Block, seems right in Wright’s wheelhouse. It’s a coming-of-age story that focuses on an Iowa teen trying to come to grips with his own raging hormones and sexual feelings as he and his cohorts cause a deadly genetically engineered plague that unleashes an army of 6-foot-tall praying mantises. Those bugs live the life these guys wish for, acting on an insatiable appetite for fighting, food, and fornicating."

It's also noted that his next film will indeed be his self-scripted Baby Driver. An action flick which would be something a bit more action genre-forward, and less comedic focused. Sounds like Edgar might be choosing his projects a bit more carefully from now on.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

WATCHMEN Actor Patrick Wilson And Others Exits Marvel's ANT-MAN

Production on Marvel's Ant-Man is about to begin, but they'll have to do it without Patrick Wilson and a few others. The Watchmen actor was cast in an unnamed role (rumored to be a young Hank Pym or the secondary villain), but seemed a bit upset when production delays began after the departure of director Edgar Wright. Payton Reed has stepped-in to direct and Adam McKay will make rewrites to the script.

There were rumors that other actors, hand-picked by Edgar could also walk from the project. It seems like that is coming true as Matt Gerard (Avatar) and Kevin Weisman (Alias) are also exiting, they are stating that their characters have been removed from the newly updated script. Considering that Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd have been the only two actors Marvel would confirm in recent press releases, it's likely we could be seeing more casting shake-ups. Deadline also mentions that Evangeline Lily (Hobbit, Real Steel, Lost, Hurt Locker) will indeed be in attendance for the panel, but her character hasn't been confirmed.

Ant-Man is set to released on July 15th, 2015.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

RUMOR: Does Villain Darren Cross Steal The Yellow Jacket Suit In ANT-MAN?

There have been a couple of rumors circling via JoBlow and TheWrap concerning who the villains of Peyton Reed's Ant-Man will be. There is talk of actors Corey Stoll and Patrick Wilson taking the roles of the villains, with Stoll playing main industrial baddie Darren Cross. I assume the pair are the ones who are hellbent on stealing Hank Pym's technology, which leads us to the "big heist" of the picture.

BadassDigest seems to try to clear things up a bit, mainly noting that it very well could be the Yellow Jacket suit that is being stolen from Pym. The suit is best known as giving Hank Pym a personality disorder, which leads to him hitting his wife Janet. A rather large and shocking plot-point for comics in that era, since domestic abuse wasn't the subject of hero's daily lives back then. It's uncertain who Stoll and Wilson will be playing, but Devin confirms Darren Cross is one of the villains. Also, hinting one of the two could be donning the Yellow Jacket suit. This would make a lot of sense and allow the darker side of Pym to be explored without making Hank out to be total piece of garbage.

SOURCE: BADASSDIGEST

Edgar Wright Walks From ANT-MAN Over Marvel's Script Rewrites?

Looks like we might finally have the skinny on why Edgar Wright left Ant-Man. It's apparently Edgar who quit, he wasn't fired by Marvel Studios, as some had assumed. LatinoReview is reporting from inside sources that Wright and Cornish we trying their best to appease production notes from Marvel. That didn't seem to be enough and two low credited writers were making massive rewrites to their script. To the point that Wright's vision had been lost, this is according to this article. I guess we'll hear from Edgar soon, but it's unlikely he'll be giving straight answers. Considering he still has a project or two in-development over at Disney.

About 3 months ago, Marvel had notes. The meat of the notes were about the core morality of the piece, must include franchise characters. etc., These notes came from the big four at Marvel. Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright did two drafts to try and answer the notes without compromising their vision.

6 weeks ago Marvel took the script off them and gave the writing assignment to two very low credit writers. One of the writers were from Marvel's in house writing team. Edgar stayed cool, agreed to stay on the project, and read the draft.

The script came in this week and was completely undone. Poorer, homogenized, and not Edgar's vision. Edgar met with Marvel on Friday to formally exit and the announcement went out directly after.

I have my own theory that these "writers", could in fact be Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. Since the pair, have had their hands in doing rewrites to "troubled" scripts. Most recently adding their "magic" to Thor: The Dark World, when the script wasn't up to the studios' standards. It would be even more insulting, if Marvel had unknowns reworking the script that Edgar had been writing off-and-on for around eight years.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

It's Not The End Of The World, ANT-MAN Will Find A New Director

You'd think the sky was falling, if we accurately gaged the response of Twitter today. News broke this afternoon that Edgar Wright will no longer be directing Ant-Man. A project he had been writing for Marvel since 2006, and would eventually see Joe Cornish join to co-write on the script. Wright was eyed for the directing gig, but Marvel allowed him to go off to make Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim and The World's End before locking him down as the official director. The studio obviously wanted Wright's vision for the film, even though it's being reported his departure is over "creative differences"

We just learned about this news, but people are already choosing sides, and making Marvel out to be the villain. The full story hasn't been revealed and Wright hasn't even weighed-in on the departure. It's basically the worst we've come to expect from fandom, reactionists just spouting conspiracies and misplacing their anger over what-ifs. If only half of these people actually supported Edgar Wright's film when they were released in theatres, he wouldn't have such a poor record at the box office.

I'm not overly shocked, as Marvel has moved up the date twice and Wright already seemed a bit overwhelmed by the amount of special effects needed for the movie. It's possible that Wright actually got cold-feet about the looming release date and couldn't meet that deadline. This doesn't make Edgar a terrible director, just someone who obviously wasn't ready for something of this scale. Of course, this is just one of many theories that are circling the internet at the moment. Let's not forget that Wright has a bunch of other films in development and could have been offered a bigger project as well.

A majority of this will be Edgar's movie no matter who end's up directing it. Wright blocked a bunch of film's shots, helped with storyboards, hired most of the cast and even co-wrote the script. It's safe to say the film will be 70% Edgar's even with a new director taking over for him. He's done basically all the prep-work, so it's not the case of Marvel removing all of Wright's fingerprints from the project. The new director will simply help finish casting and will just aggressively shoot the production extremely fast.

I have a few names I'd like to put out there for consideration. Variety has pointed out while Marvel is zeroing-in on someone, a deal hasn't been made. So they could end-up looking at other people for the gig.

RICHARD AYOADE: Richard has very similar sensibilities to Edgar Wright, both have a love of topical pulp culture and dry British humor. Ayoade comes from the indie world of filmmaking which should appease the film nerds. His films Submarine and The Double, wouldn't give the impression he'd make an excellent superhero film. However, neither did the Russo Brothers with their work on the show Community. He's sort of a diamond-in-the-rough director you'd want Marvel to search for.

BEN WHEATLEY: Another friend of Edgar Wright, Ben has walked the line of insane and brilliant. His films The Kill-List and A Field In England are projects you'd expect Stanley Kubrick to make, but then makes a black-comedy like The Sightseers (produced by Wright). He's the kind of unpredictable director that I believe Marvel would be attracted to. Ben recently agreed to direct an episode of Doctor Who, something you wouldn't expect him to be into. The only problem is that Ben is about to start shooting his next film High Rise starring Tom Hiddleston.

JOE CORNISH: A lot of people are dismissing Cornish getting involved because he's lined-up another feature, which will focus on the origins of MI6. Joe is the co-writer of the script and could easily direct the hell out of an Ant-Man movie. The people at Marvel must have seen Attack The Block, and the star of that film John Boyega landed a role in Star Wars. I could see Cornish dropping that other project if given the deal from Marvel.

Some honorary mentions include Eran Creevy (Welcome To The Punch, Autobauhn) Sam Miller (Luther), J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) and Paddy Constantine (Tyrannosaur).

Edgar Wright Exits ANT-MAN, New Director To Be Announced Shortly

After eights years and many different script drafts, Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of The Dead) has officially exited Marvel's Ant-Man. Wright had been involved with the project since it's inception over eight years ago, and was about to start rolling on the film at Pinewood Studios, Atlanta. The joint announcement via THR, confirms that Wright has left the production and a new director will be named soon.

Marvel and Edgar Wright jointly announced today that the studio and director have parted ways on ANT-MAN due to differences in their vision of the film. The decision to move on is amicable and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly.



The cast isn't likely to change which includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Patrick Wilson, Corey Stoll, and Michael Pena. The release date won't be changing either, and pre-production will likely resume shortly. This isn't the first time something like this has happened at Marvel. Patty Jenkins was originally hired to direct Thor: The Dark World, only to exit and be replaced with Alan Taylor.

It's unknown who Marvel will place in the director's chair, but some are already speculating co-writer Joe Cornish might get the offer. Cornish directed the well-recived film Attack The Block, and was a favorite to land the directing gig for Star Trek 3. Joe turned down the offer to takeover Star Trek, so it's possible he'd also turn this down as well.

We also don't have the full story here, and it's likely that Wright was offered a bigger project and felt the need to turn away from Ant-Man. I'm sure things will come into the light in the coming days.

SOURCE: THR

AVATAR Actor Matt Gerald Joins The Male-Heavy Cast Of Edgar Wright's ANT-MAN

Deadline reports that character actor Matt Gerald (Avatar, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Escape Plan) has taken a villainous role in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. This isn't Matt's first Marvel role, as he took the part of White Power Dave in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail The King. It's unknown if he'll be reprising the role of Dave in new film.

The rest of the cast includes Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit, Real Steel, Hurt Locker), Michael Douglas (The Game, Black Rain, Wall Street), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, A-Team, Insidious 1-2, The Conjuring), Michael Pena (End of Watch, Crash) and Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Non-Stop, Midnight In Paris). Production is set to being at Pinewoods Studios in Atlanta, the first Marvel film to be shot that facility. It's release date is the old Batman Vs Superman spot, which is slated for July , 2015

I'm loving the cast Edgar is putting together, but it's a giant sausage-fest at the moment. Currently, there are six-seven male cast members (Clifton Collins Jr. might be the seventh actor), while only one woman has been cast in the film. You'd think after The Winter Soldier having five female characters in the film, Marvel would be adding more ladies among the Ant-Man cast. Here's hoping that we end-up seeing more women join the Marvel film, because it's a bit shameful if they don't.


SOURCE: DEADLINE

HOUSE OF CARDS Actor Corey Stoll Could Join ANT-MAN And Evangeline Lilly Confirmed?

TheWrap reports that character actor Corey Stoll (Midnight In Paris, House of Cards, Non-Stop, Salt) is in-talks to take an unnamed role in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. His role isn't mentioned but it's possible he could end-up taking either supporting role or could end up a villain. Patrick Wilson's role hasn't been revealed but Stoll might end up playing SHIELD Agent Eric O'Grady or even villain Egghead (a role both Simon Pegg and Rob Corddry jokingly campaigned for). I'm sure when Marvel makes the official casting announcements we'll get more information.The rest of the cast includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Patrick Wilson, Michael Pena and Clifton Collins Jr.

The site also seemingly confirms that Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Real Steel, Hurt Locker, Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Hobbit: There And Back Again) has indeed been cast in the female lead, which may or may not be Janet aka The Wasp.

SOURCE: THEWRAP

Patrick Wilson Going From WATCHMEN To ANTMAN!

Deadline is reporting that actor Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, The Conjuring 1-2, Insidious 1-3) has joined the slowly growing cast of Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. Wilson is nearing a deal of an unnamed role, which may be heroic or villainous. My money is that he could be playing the young Hank Pym, while the older version is played by Michael Douglas. The plot is said to bounce between the 60's and present day, involving the Cuban missile-crisis and the theft of Pym's technology (his suit).

Paul Rudd is set to play Scott Lang, our thief turned hero. Along with possible additions such as Clifton Collins Jr. (seemingly confirmed his involvement on twitter) and Michael Pena. Rashida Jones has been linked for the female role, same with Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain. More recently, Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit Trilogy, Lost, Real Steal, Hurt Locker) has been linked for the female lead, which could be Janet aka The Wasp.

It's also possible that Wilson could be playing Hank Pym Jr. (Douglas' son), which would allow Lilly as Janet, along with her relationship to Hank playing out. There had been some speculation that Janet could be Pym's daughter and then falling for Scott Lange instead of Hank. Having Hank Sr. and Jr. could be a way to fix that problem, while giving the Ant-Man title a bit of legacy.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Oscar Nominated Composer Steven Price To Score ANT-MAN

Marvel is finally upping their game, concerning the composers of their films. I recent spoke to my opinion on their films having weak scores. Considering that these films will be affectionately compared to Star Wars by a generation, the scores are below the standard (for films of this size) and are pedestrian at best. My thoughts on that might change as Tyler Bates (300, Watchmen) is set to score James Gunn's Guardians of The Galaxy. Another promising name is being added to the Phase Three launch title Ant-Man.

Edgar Wright confirmed today on his Twitter account that BAFTA winner and Oscar nominated composer Steven Price (Gravity) will score Ant-Man. Price has previously worked with Wright on The World's End and Scott Pilgrim. Steven also worked on films such as The Lord of The Rings (Two Towers/Return of The King) and Batman Begins.

Another giant bonus for the project, which recently landed Oscar winner Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street, Black Rain ) to play Dr. Hank Pym. It seems Marvel and Edgar are swinging for the fences with everyone involved with Ant-Man. I'm still holding out hope Marvel approaches Michael Giacchino (Star Trek 1-2, Up) and Paul-Leonard Morgan (Dredd) to score future Marvel films, since they need that caliber of composer going forward.




SOURCE: EDGARWRIGHT

Evangeline Lilly In Talks For Role In ANT-MAN

Variety reports that Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Real Steel) is currently in talks for a lead role in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. The role is unnamed, but is expected to be Pym's (Michael Douglas) daughter and love-interest to Lang (Paul Rudd). It's also possible this could also be Janet van Dyne, who becomes The Wasp. Lilly recently took on a action-based role in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, which would make her an excellent candidate for Wasp.

Ladies previously linked for the role included Rashida Jones, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain. Clifton Collins Jr. is also attached for an unknown role in the film. Production begins in April, with the release date set for July, 2015.





SOURCE: VARIETY

Clifton Collins Jr. Joins Michael Douglas And Paul Rudd In Edgar Wright's ANT-MAN

THR broke news yesterday that Marvel was possibly considering both Clifton Collins Jr. and Javier Bardem for roles in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. It had been assumed that they weren't locks, as it was seemingly for the role Michael Pena had been reportedly offered. Pena actually taking the role hasn't been confirmed, but another one of the actors just might have been.

LatinoReview is adding that Clifton Collins Jr. has been confirmed for the film, in an unnamed role. Stating, he's the only lead actor cast in the film besides Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd. We had hoped that Collins' previous working relationship with Wright would help his chances, and it possibly could have here. No word if he is playing a villain or hero in the picture. His credits include Star Trek, Crank High Voltage, Boondock Saints 2, Traffic, Pacific Rim and Scott Pilgrim. 

It's also been pointed out by LR (but not reported), that Clifton could pass as a younger Michael Douglas (currently in his 70's). There had been rumors that the some of the film could take place in the 60's, involving a Cuban/Communist Missile Crisis as the centre of the story. Having Douglas play the present day Pym and Collins Jr. as the 60's version might be a good way to establish lineage with the character. Also, having Ant-Man set in both the present and the 60's could be very interesting.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

Clifton Collins Jr. Looking To Reunite With Edgar Wright For ANT-MAN?

Today, we heard from TheWrap that actor Michael Pena is being eyed for a role in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. A few other names are also being linked for the role according to THR. The pair of actors are Javier Bardem (Skyfall, No County For Old Men) and Clifton Collins Jr (Traffic, Pacific Rim, Boondock Saints 2, Crank High Voltage). Of course, these names are only mentioned as being linked.

We had heard that Marvel was talking with Javier Bardem for a future role, it had been assumed that at the time it was for Doctor Strange. This was years ago, and likely had nothing to do Ant-Man as Wright was busy with other projects at the time. Having another high-profile actor like Bardem, would help get international attention.

Collins worked with Edgar on Scott Pilgrim, taking a cameo role as a one of the Vegan Police. He's also very recognizable as a very funny character actor, and seems more like an actor up to snuff to deliver action and humor we'd expect from Wright and Cornish. I'm rooting for Clifton because he was so awesome in Boondock Saints 2 and Crank High Voltage, but it likely comes down to if Pena turns down the role.

SOURCE: THR

Rashida Jones And Bryce Dallas Howard Linked For ANT-MAN

Finally, we're starting to hear about actresses concerning Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. Variety reports that Rashida Jones and Bryce Dallas Howard are now being considered for the film. Jones had been linked for months along with Paul Rudd (the pair having excellent on screen chemistry), for the role of Janet van Dyne aka The Wasp. A character that was originally set for The Avengers, but was later cut out of the film. I believe Marvel is strongly considering Rashida for Janet, but there is likely a couple other female roles needed to be cast.

Marvel is planning a April shoot and the female lead the last major role left to cast. Rashida Jones and Bryce Dallas Howard have been mentioned but, as of now, no one has been offered the part. 

Even if Dallas Howard got an offer, she may have an issue with doing “Ant-Man” as she is also on board for “Jurassic World” which would turn into a scheduling conflict. Jessica Chastain was also approached for the part but passed on it.


Apparently, Bryce is being offered the role that went out to Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) earlier in the year. That character was never named, and Jessica turned it down. Dallas Howard has already committed to shooting Jurassic World alongside Guardians actor Chris Pratt, that production could conflict with her taking the role. Bryce is no stranger to the Marvel universe playing Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3, we've seen Marvel Studios re-cast actors that have been in other Marvel films before. One standout example being, Chris Evans crossover from Fantastic Four to Captain America.

It's possible that this role Jessica/Bryce are wanted for, might not be Janet but someone else entirely. There has been some interesting speculation that this second female role could be Hank Pym's daughter. Taking into consideration Michael Douglas' age, it's possible that he'd have a daughter in her 30's or older. Lang's wife is also another possiblity, also nothing rules out this being Cassie Lang either. Cassie could have been reworked (Scott's sister not daughter?) to fit the MCU better. Plus, having a second female lead wouldn't be a terrible thing.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Michael Pena Offered Unnamed Role In Edgar Wright's ANT-MAN

It's starting to look like Edgar Wright and Marvel are really pushing forward with casting Ant-Man quickly. Wright is known for casting his roles in a very timely fashion, we've seen this in practice previously with Scott Pilgrim and The World's End. Having already cast Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym and Paul Rudd Scott Lang as the two male leads of the picture.

TheWrap now reports that all around awesome character actor Michael Pena (American Hustle, End of Watch, Crash, Gangster Squad, Observe And Report, Shooter) has been offered an unnamed role in Ant-Man, the story has been backed up by various sources and bloggers, adding that Michael is keen on the project and will likely take it.

I don't know Ant-Man canon well enough to suggest a character for Pena, but a modified version of S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Eric O'Grady wouldn't be out of the question, as he's played many military and law enforcement roles before. This is yet another awesome casting choice on the part of Edgar and Kevin. The film begins production in April at Atlanta's Pinewood Studios, with a release date of July 31st, 2015.

SOURCE: THEWRAP