Kevin Feige Talks ANT-MAN, Why's He's Not In AVENGERS: AOU, Casting Paul Rudd And More
Kevin Feige explains how Ant-Man is indeed connected to the MCU, why the character won't be in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as well as Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd's take on Hank Pym and Scott Lang. He also seemingly confirms the appearance of a younger Hank and Tony Stark as the creator of Ultron.
Edgar Wright's Ant-Man is a movie which has been a long time coming, especially as it's been in the works before Iron Man blasted onto the big screen in 2008. Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded to such a great extent, Empire Magazine caught up with Kevin Feige to ask him whether or not the movie has been changed in order to reflect that. "A little bit. Not much. There's been a little bit of connective tissue that wouldn't have been there in in his draft ten years ago," he revealed. "We changed, frankly some of the MCU to accommodate this version of Ant-Man. Knowing what we wanted to do with Edgar and with Ant-Man, going years and years back, helped to dictate what we did with the roster for Avengers the first time. It was a bit of both in terms of his idea for the Ant-Man story influencing the birth of the MCU in the early films leading up to Avengers."
As for why Hank Pym - the original creator of Ultron in the comic books - isn't in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Feige explained: "It was two things - a story Edgar wanted to tell that we'll see with Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd, and now we're 11 films in, it's looking at the characters we've already introduced who already have the technology and the brains to do...certain things [Laughs]." He's obviously alluding to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark there, an equally logical choice for the creator of Ultron in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As for whether Pym is the "original Tony Stark", he added, "He's certainly older. Original Tony Stark? In that he is an inventor and a scientist, but he has a very different demeanour that Tony and a very different ego, even when he was younger."
Finally, talk turned to the decision to cast Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, and Feige dropped a few very interesting hints about the Anchorman star's take on the character. "Look at that origin of the petty crook who comes into contact with a suit and does his best to make good, and then look at someone like Paul Rudd, who can do slightly unsavoury things like break into people's houses and still be charming and who you root for and whose redemption you will find satisfaction in." How do you guys feel about these comments? Be sure to sound off with your thoughts on them in the usual place!
About The Author:
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.