Earlier this afternoon, Disney and Edgar Wright released a statement that Wright would no longer be directing Marvel’s Ant-Man “due to differences in their vision of the film.” Well, shit fire and save the matches.
This will be a staggering disappointment to many of us. I’m a huge fan of Wright’s, and this comes as an unexpected blow. I had been looking forward to this union of Marvel and Wright ever since the project was announced years ago, and I’d be willing to bet that some of you were (and still are) eager to get Avengers: Age of Ultron out of the way so you could get to Ant-Man. The split was described as “amicable”, but to be a fly on the wall of Kevin Feige’s office… I’m sure some very tough discussions took place.
As Marvel scrambles to fill the director’s chair, they’re currently saying that Wright’s exit won’t affect the film’s release date of July 17, 2015. I expect a new director to be announced shortly, and Kevin Feige knows he can’t just stick some schlub in Edgar Wright’s shoes. The script, penned by Wright and Joe Cornish, will require a director with a keen eye and sharp sense of timing to make their action beats and jokes hit properly. I know you can’t see it, but I’ve got my concerned face on.