Why do I have the feeling that Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige is having a good laugh this evening?
No sooner does news break that an adaption of the comic book heroes the Guardians of the Galaxy may be the occupying the second of the two announced 2014 dates that the studio has staked, then comes word that writer/director Edgar Wright has shot some test footage for his long in-development with the studio big screen treatment of Ant-Man. The open spot on Marvel’s release calendar is on May 16. The studio currently has Captain America 2 scheduled a month earlier on April 4.
The Hollywood Reporter was first with the news that Wright shot the footage a few weeks ago as a test to see how some of the proposed effects would look on the big screen and to try to give studio execs an idea of what the tone of the film would be.
Ant-Man is actually scientist Hank Pym, who discovers a type of radiation that allows him to shrink in size. Armed with a device that lets him control ants, Pym was a founding member of the Avengers. He would also sometime use a reverse of his shrinking process to fight evil as Giant Man. Wright and co-writer Joe Cornish have been working on the screenplay for the project for the past couple of years.
Of course, this doesn’t automatically mean that Ant-Man will be moving into production anytime soon. If Marvel decides to finally greenlight Ant-Man, they will need to wait until Wright shoots The World’s End, his third comedic collaboration with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost which is scheduled to start shooting this fall.
No matter which project gets the nod, I would expect the answer to come next month from Marvel at the San Diego Comic Con.
