Our biggest stories usually report exciting announcements and mega-castings or lift the curtains on brand new trailer or poster It’s rare that we have to give the scoop on some horribly frustrating bits of news. For unclear reasons, British director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs The World) has quit Marvel’s sci-fi action Ant-Man, coming as a huge shock as Wright has been working on the script for almost a decade. The most common suggestion is that the film’s various rewrites had spoiled Wright’s original vision and so he walked.
It’s possible that the original script’s focus had been sidelined by Kevin Feige’s plans for the developing universe, Wright began his work before the MCU was established. Similar events transpired in the development of Iron Man 2 – director Jon Favreau claims that his original vision had been scrapped in order to give screen time to the building up of the Avengers, leaving Whiplash a devastatingly dull villain. It’s possible that Wright had similar quarrels.
We may not get solid reasons for the departure for a long time but I’d be glad if Marvel took time to hire a new director (Richard Ayoade – The Double, Submarine -, Joe Cornish – Attack the Block -, Phil Lord and Chris Miller – 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie – and Jonathan Levine – Warm Bodies, 50/50 – reportedly in the mix) instead of rushing to a release date with an amateur (looking at you Brett Ratner/X-Men: The Last Stand).
The decision to quit has divided opinion among filmmakers but we certainly know where Geek king Joss Whedon (Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Much Ado About Nothing, Toy Story, Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, The Avengers) stands. Brownie points to the first person to comment the reference.
The film is still set to star Paul Rudd (Achorman, Knocked Up), Michael Pena (End of Watch, Million Dollar Baby), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Midnight in Paris), Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring, Watchmen), Matt Gerald (Escape Plan, Avatar) and two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas (Wall Street, The Game).
Also today, 200 minute drama Winter Sleep has won the highly coveted Palme d’Or winner at this year’s Cannes Festival. The film, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, follows in the footsteps of Apocalypse Now, Barton Fink, Taxi Driver, The Pianist, The Tree of Life and Blue is the Warmest Colour and beat the likes of Maps to the Stars, Two Days One Night, Jimmy’s Hall and Foxcatcher
Ant-Man – July 17th 2015
Winter Sleep – later this year
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