Ant-Man: Info, Pics, Rumors, Casting and Details till release

[Captain Craig]

Ant-Man, a founding Avenger who was left out of the Phase One plan will make his introduction into the MCU during Phase Two. Announced during SDCC 2012. As of this time it's speculation if the film will be a late Fall release in November 2014 or another slot. Marvel/Disney may do 3 releases a year during Phase two.

Ant-Man is another Stan Lee/Jack Kirby team-up created character so it's not hard to see why he was chosen. Characters by those guys seem to be adaptable and relatable.

There have been 3 different men to use the Ant-Man persona and early rumors are that the film may feature two of them.

Ant-Man 1 - Hank Pym (original)

Biophysicist and Security Operations Center expert Dr. Henry 'Hank' Pym decided to become a superhero after discovering a chemical substance that would allow the user to alter his size. Armed with a helmet that could control ants, Pym would shrink down to the size of an insect to become the mystery-solving Ant-Man. He soon shared his discovery with his girlfriend, Janet Van Dyne, who became his crime-fighting partner as the Wasp. The duo would become founding members of the Avengers.

Ant-Man 2 - Scott Lang (just back from the dead in comics)

Scott Lang was a thief who first became Ant-Man after stealing Henry Pym's Ant-Man suit to save his daughter Cassie from a heart condition. Reforming from his life of crime, he soon took on a full-time career as Ant-Man with the encouragement of Hank Pym.

Ant-Man 3 - Eric O'Grady (started as a SHIELD agent)

Eric O'Grady is the third character to take up the title of Ant-Man. Eric O'Grady is a low-level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who stumbled upon the Ant-Man suit in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters. A man of few morals and willing to lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate in order to get ahead in life, Eric stole the armor for his own selfish plans, which included using his status as a "super-hero" to seduce women.

I expect Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp to at least appear even if she doesn't become Wasp. Especially with the possibility of 2 Ant-Men for the film.


I intentionally included a load of links and images for people who are not fully aware of the character. Just in discussion of The Avengers film thread a number have let it be known the films are their only portal in thus far. So I wanted to include in this OP a good primer as details begin to emerge, especially a few weeks from now when Edgar Wright really gets started on the project.

My thinking is if they do go with two Ant-Men it'll be Pym and O'Grady. You have to have the original and with SHIELD having such an integral influence in the MCU it's easy to use O'Grady. I'd prefer they don't make him as irredeemable and corny as he was often times portrayed. He could be funny man to Pym's straight man I suppose.

Thoughts on this development and what you might like to see for an Ant-Man movie....it's happening.

 

[Derishton]

Is there any reason to believe they're going with two Ant-Men, rather than Hank Pym with something of O'Grady's personality? (Given Hawkeye and Black Widow, I;m assuming Shield will be involved in the Ant-men tech.) Maybe Pym developing the suit, O'Grady stealing it - which seems to mirror the new DC's Atom?

 

[Prince of Space]

Can't say I'm too excited about an Ant-Man movie that doesn't lead to Hank and Jan joining the Avengers eventually. That seems to be unlikely, based on what's been revealed been so far.

 

[Captain Craig]

Is there any reason to believe they're going with two Ant-Men, rather than Hank Pym with something of O'Grady's personality?

At least twice in separate interviews over the course of the films development (which no doubt will continue to evolve a bit more) those involved have dangled the prospect of either a Pym/Lang co-existence in the film or Pym/O'Grady.

Here dateline July 2011

Cornish says something about the script with Multiple Ant-Men:
"As for whether or not the movie itself is moving forward remains up in the air. “I don’t know, man. I’d love for it to happen but it’s really up to Edgar and Marvel,” Cornish said. We had heard that at one point Cornish and Wright were going to put several of the Ant-Men (meaning people that had put on superhero scientist Hank Pym’s suit) into the script, meaning that they could have thrown in our personal favorite Ant-Man – Eric O’Grady, low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent turned shadily “Irredeemable” Ant Man.

And again dateline June 2012

Edgar Wright revealed some details about the planned plot of the movie:
"'The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both... Henry Pym and Scott Lang. So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60's, in sort of 'Tales to Astonish' mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang's story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him. "

Now if they go with the Pym/Lang duo that frees up casting to make an older Pym AND have a type of period piece film (for portions of the film) that could maybe tie into Captain America and Winter Soldier...if necessary. Not sure fans would want a 60yr old Pym though. Kinda takes Wasp out of play as well.

Even still, could just be a solo Pym movie. Leave the sequels for expanding to Lang and O'Grady. It could be the first film series to have actively evolving leads...on purpose. That would be a first would it not?

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

So would Simon Pegg be Hank Pym or Scott Lang?

 

[Derishton]

I think Wright can't do the second, although it sounds very cool: Iron Man and Hulk's appearance in the MCU seems like a newish thing to Fury (although if I went back and watched all of them again, I'm sure I could read it the opposite way: that the Avengers Initiative was started in the nick of time, after isolated events in the 20th century convinced the American gov't that scary-ass people with scary-ass power would be coming down the pike).

But Cornish could easily be referring to something playing out over a longer period, again ala the Atom.

 

[MANT!]

I really approve of this thread!

 

[Trekker4747]

Ugh, Ant-Man, I just can't get behind this at all. Ant-Man is lame and isn't he also sort-of a wife-beating dickhead? How are you going to make THAT work in the MCU?

I'm sure there's others in Marvel's lineup that are a better fit than freaking Ant-Man.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

Ugh, Ant-Man, I just can't get behind this at all. Ant-Man is lame and isn't he also sort-of a wife-beating dickhead?

Speaking of wife beating dickheads...

​

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMRH0_Uf9M[/yt]

Hasn't this one had four movies?

 

[MANT!]

Ugh, Ant-Man, I just can't get behind this at all. Ant-Man is lame and isn't he also sort-of a wife-beating dickhead? How are you going to make THAT work in the MCU?

I'm sure there's others in Marvel's lineup that are a better fit than freaking Ant-Man.

WHAT!

I DON"T BEAT MY WIFE..in fact she threatens to use RAID
every time I get uppity..

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

To be fair Hank Pym never beat his wife in the 616 universe. He did slap her once but he was under the control of Ultron when he did. Unlike Mister Fantastic.

Didn't this dick have two movies with a reboot on the way?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I hot the hots for Janet when I was a teenager.

 

[Captain Craig]

Ugh, Ant-Man, I just can't get behind this at all. Ant-Man is lame and isn't he also sort-of a wife-beating dickhead? How are you going to make THAT work in the MCU?

One thing AND he was under Ultron's control was he not? Sheesh, hardly an every other appearance behavior pattern.

Tony's not still a drunk despite the Demon in the Bottle storyline.
Arsenal isn't still shooting heroine despite the one story.

You're showing a severe lack of diversity and knowledge on the character my friend.

 

[Trekker4747]

Not a big Marvel reader and even less a fan of Ant-Man, in spite of his... proclivities I just find him and his "power set" lame.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^^
Fair enough. I do hope you keep an open mind. I fully think a good series can be done using the Ant-Men and Pym's evolving costume identities in tandem.

 

[Trekker4747]

It's going to require me to have a big open mind. I mean I wasn't a fan of Iron Man, Thor or Captain America either but they were at least characters and identities I could latch onto and buy into and roll with. Billionaire industrialist in a powered suit, a Norse god and a WWII super solider. None of which have any extra-ordinary powers and such that strains how much belief I'm willing to suspend. Even Hulk is "believable" on a level or two and I find them all pretty interesting.

Ant-Man? Strains how far I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for a movie series and I just find the powers lame and everything I've heard about his character in the comics is that he's kind of a jackass. It's going to be a big "let's see" but I just can't help but think there's a lot of other Marvel characters more suited to be explored and used than Ant-Man.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

Just keep an open mind. It has a terrific director and an engaging lead and that can count for a lot.

 

[Trekker4747]

It can and it's a movie I most likely see, but it's just going to take a lot for me to really get into it and I really wish Marvel had gone with someone else first. Hell, I'd have taken freakin' Namor over Ant-Man.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

FWIW, I'm not a fan of his abilities either, but I'll wait and see how interesting it'll be. This isn't like Iron Man and Captain America (who I knew well) or Thor (who I was slightly skeptical of, but at least sorta got his powers). I'm not counting Hulk. I was skeptical of a reboot there, but he's an established staple so no one doubted a Hulk movie.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

I understand. I'm having issues getting myself excited for Guardians of the Galaxy. But I'm keeping an open mind because Marvel has not once failed to entertain me with their movies and I doubt they'll drop the ball now that they're more popular than ever.