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The Ants Go Marching and Will F*ck You Up

By TK | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (11)

antman1.jpg

For once, there isn’t a ton of comic book news floating around. Given that, I figured we’d update you on one of the smaller projects currently under development, Ant-Man.

Get it? Ant-Man? Smaller projects? You see? Because Ant-Man is…

Ah, go fuck a bucket of snapping turtles.

Anyway, Ant-Man is set to be directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), who is currently wrapping up Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. He also wrote the first draft for the film, which has been lauded by those who caught a peek at it. I’m not surprised — Wright has written the scripts for most of his films, as well as the beloved television series “Spaced,” and has proven himself an excellent writer. The character of Ant-Man could be a solid addition to the current Marvel screen pantheon. It’s about Henry Pym, a scientist who develops technology enabling him to shrink to tiny size (and later, to giant size and become Giant Man), as well as to control insects. It’s cooler than it sounds, trust me.

Wright had this to say about the film, in a recent interview:

I haven’t actually started the second draft yet — I’m not going to be able to until this film [Scott Pilgrim] is out — but what we wrote for the first draft, and what Marvel really liked, is that it’s funny, but it’s a genre film. It’s about the level of comedy that Iron Man has. The idea is to make a high-concept genre film where it’s within another genre. His suit and its power is the big gadget and it takes place in the real world. I just wanted to do something that was slightly different than the superhero origin film. I felt that between that and the various mad scientist, crazy doctor films that we’ve all seen, this would be a way into an origin that was slightly different. I’m not really a multi-tasker — I haven’t done anything since Marvel liked our first draft.

“The level of comedy that Iron Man has” is good news — I was a little worried that it would end up a bit too silly, and I’m also glad to see the gadget aspect of it emphasized. In the end Henry Pym is a goddamn genius, one of the smartest men on Earth, and that’s an aspect that shouldn’t be neglected. No cast has been announced yet, though I’ll join in the chorus of folks who would love to see Nathan Fillion as the lead. Also, I’ve no idea whether or not the script will have Janet Pym, aka The Wasp, as his wife, and whether or not it’ll have the Ultimates take on him as a wife-abuser as well. I’m guessing maybe on the former, probably not on the latter.

Source: Slashfilm)









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Comments

Wasn't the Nathan Fillion thing talked about a serious possibility for The Avengers? Like, less of a "I'd love to see this" and more of a "this is likely to happen"?

Posted by: Kyle at June 30, 2010 11:05 AM

I have a friend who loves Hank Pym (616, not Ultimates) because in addition to his Iron Man-esque habit of being his own worst enemy (or building them) he's also mentally ill, and not just convenient-for-a-plot-point mentally ill, but really one of those people who's better off when he's NOT being a superhero.

Really an interesting character, but a lot of that is his interplay with the greater comic world he inhabits. Who knows if the movie will do him justice but I can't fault them for the director.

Posted by: twig at June 30, 2010 11:08 AM

The source I saw said that it was pretty much guaranteed for the Avengers movie, Kyle. Edgar Wright might not play along with that, though. We'll see.
And hey, is Twig back? (Was Twig gone for a while? Is it the same Twig?)

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at June 30, 2010 11:19 AM

It's the same me, Optimus. I've been around and reading, I just haven't had anything much to say lately.

Flattered that you'd notice. I feel like a Big Name Pajiban.

Posted by: twig at June 30, 2010 11:46 AM

The thing is, Nathan Fillion was born to play a superhero. That jawline, that hair, those arms, that...hammer. I agree that he'd be phenomenal here, but really I think he'd be phenomenal anywhere. Except, perhaps, in a Lindsay Lohan porn movie.

Posted by: esme at June 30, 2010 11:51 AM

I think Nathan Fillion is too tall for this role.

Posted by: mswas at June 30, 2010 12:05 PM

Fuck superhero origin films.

Those that were good flicks succeeded despite their origin milieu.
I am soooo glad to hear Edgar Wright isn't making one, either.

Posted by: Jackseppelin at June 30, 2010 12:48 PM

Actually the wife abuse storyline dates back to the 1980s. Henry Pym may be Marvel's most fucked-up character, and that's saying something.

Posted by: Jon at June 30, 2010 8:54 PM

Pym is a crazy douche, I would have preferred a movie about Eric O' Grady, the iredeemable Ant-Man, just a regular jerk with a shrinking suit. Anyway, after I watch Scott Pilgrim I'll decide if I completely trust Edgar Wright.

Posted by: Radlum at June 30, 2010 11:57 PM

Yeah, Henry Pym's wife-slapping wasn't an Ultimates retcon. He had a nervous breakdown around the time he adopted the Yellowjacket persona in Avengers, became abusive to Janet, and was eventually expelled from the team.

Posted by: Craig at July 1, 2010 7:39 PM

Absolutely true. And they never, EVER let him forget it.

Tony when Henry was criticizing him for, well, embarrassing America at the UN(believe it or not, he was defense secretary and would give public speeches in the armor, which I guess saves on the Secret Service):

"DON'T YOU HAVE A WIFE TO BEAT?"

It's pretty much all Pym's known for now.

'Course, she's dead now, and he calls himself the Wasp now. Because wearing your dead wife's clothes and taking over her job is completely something a normal person does. This is why when I occasionally dip into superhero comics I wish to Cthulhu I hadn't.

Pym's a douche, basically. but this film sounds interesting.

Posted by: John Roberson at July 2, 2010 4:30 AM