Edgar Wright Making 'Ant-Man' a Heist Picture

I'm still not in love with Ant-Man as a movie property; I just don't think there's enough there, especially with the knowledge that Marvel doesn't like one-and-dones. There's really not a demand for multiple Ant-Man adventures. Sure, if Disney wanted to do the short film route that's been discussed for some second- and third-tier characters in the Universe, fine. Or direct-to-DVD to see what kind of audience, great. But an Ant-Man feature film is sketchy. So Edgar Wright, director of this week's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, tells Vanity Fair he's going to change it up. And frankly, outside of hearing that Wright's directing it, this is the best possible news bar none. Wright says it's going to be...a heist picture?

"I know there’s a big stigma attached to [shrinking characters in films], mostly because every movie about shrinking has been about people in peril. I think it’d be great to do a shrinking film about a bad-ass secret agent... Even something like The Incredible Shrinking Man, which is a fantastic film, is about a guy in trouble. But this is going to be nothing like that. It’s essentially a high-tech spy heist film with somebody with a very particular power.

That's a pretty good device to use, however...doesn't this just underscore why Ant-Man may not be a great fit for a big budget movie? If the story he has carries "a stigma" and you've got to rework it to this degree, maybe it's not worth doing. It's a good thing Marvel has hired Edgar Wright; he's one of those guys just brimming with confidence, ability, and energy, and if the company wants to take Ant-Man a different direction, Wright's the guy to do it. Just imagine what he could do with an origin story in which Marvel really showed confidence.

Comments

[Adam]

Maybe we'll see DC doing The Atom as a high fantasy film where he's riding a giant frog into battle a la the "Sword of The Atom" mini-series. Can't be any more bizarre than Ant-Man as a heist film.