On Friday, May 23, Marvel Studios and director/writer Edgar Wright announced that they had parted ways amicably over the vision of the upcoming Marvel movie “Ant-Man.”
The official release from Marvel reads:
“Marvel and Edgar Wright jointly announced today that the studio and director have parted ways on “Ant-Man” due to differences in their vision of the film. The decision to move on is amicable and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly.”
Dropping news like this, on the eve of a holiday weekend, one can only think the studio wanted the news to not be as noticed, but the fan backlash has already started. Many were excited to see his treatment of the character and are upset he is no longer involved.
Wright was first attached to “Ant-Man” back in 2006, and he co-wrote the script with Joe Cornish. He was also set to direct the movie, which is already in pre-production, and set to start shooting when “Avengers: Age of Ultron” wraps.
So for him to spend all this time on shaping the film, it seems very strange that he would just leave so close to start date without a really good reason. No official details have been released, but Latino Review, which is usually pretty reliable with their scoops, says a recent script rewrite by in-house Marvel writers was a deal breaker for Wright.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” director/writer James Gunn posted his opinion on the split on his Facebook page:
“It’s easy to try to make one party “right” and another party “wrong” when a breakup happens, but it often isn’t that simple. Or perhaps it’s even more simple than that – not everyone belongs in a relationship together. It doesn’t mean they’re not wonderful people. And that’s true of both Edgar Wright and Marvel.”
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” director/writer Joss Whedon posted this Wright solidarity photo to his Twitter account:
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) May 24, 2014
He’s holding a Cornetto wrapper, a nod to Wright’s trilogy of films, “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End,” also known as The Cornetto Trilogy.
Marvel is already in negotiations for a new director, but no clue has been given as to whom that may be.
“Ant-Man” is due in theaters July 17, 2015. It stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll and Patrick Wilson.