Edgar Wright was tapped to write and direct Ant-Man in 2006, but in the time it took for him to finish the Cornetto Trilogy, the MCU changed a great deal. What was once a standalone superhero movie now needed to fit into a much larger narrative and Wright wasn't happy when his screenplay was revised by in-house writers.
Before departing the project over "creative differences," Wright shot test footage which premiered at Comic-Con and even cast Paul Rudd to play Scott Lang.
Some of Wright's (and co-writer Joe Cornish's) ideas made it into the movie which was released in 2015, but Rudd and Adam McKay took a pass at the screenplay, adding different jokes, that opening S.H.I.E.L.D. flashback, and a larger role for Hope Van Dyne.
The Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director recently answered some fan questions on Instagram and dropped a few new details about his Ant-Man plans.
Confirming the only MCU cameo we'd have seen was set to come right at the end of the movie, Wright went on to say that his Scott Lang was an actual criminal rather than someone who only went to prison because he'd tried to do the right thing by exposing his corrupt ex-employer.
"Having signed an NDA when I left, there's not a lot I can say," the filmmaker begins. "I guess the biggest (pun intended) differences in our screenplay was it was self-contained and didn't have cameos from other MCU characters (apart from an end tease) and it was much more of a crime heist movie, with interlocking robberies and heists throughout, a little like Donald Westlake's The Hot Rock."
"I think the crucial difference too was that (like the original comics) Scott Lang was an actual criminal at the start of the film and not already a 100 percent good guy. We felt it was a more satisfying redemption arc if he went from criminal to hero. Lots more to say, but can't for legal reasons!"
Ant-Man was fun, but boy, it's hard not to wish we'd ended up seeing this version of the movie. Peyton Reed did a fine job, but if Ant-Man and The Wasp and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania proved anything, it's that the best parts of Ant-Man were likely carried over from Wright and Cornish's script.
Let us know your thoughts on these comments from Wright in the usual place.