Although many of us felt that it was merely a technicality, last night's news only claimed that Rudd was in "early talks" for the Ant-Man role. Well, it seems those talks panned out as Marvel has officially announced that the actor will take the lead in Edgar Wright's movie. Below is the statement from Marvel, which doesn't make mention of which character Rudd will actually play (Hank Pym or Scott Lang etc) and is completely free of plot details, but there are some quotes from Kevin Feige.
Marvel’s “Ant-Man” has found its hero in Paul Rudd, who will star in the new film from director Edgar Wright hitting theaters July 31, 2015!
The casting of Rudd represents the actor that Marvel had long ago identified as its first choice to play Ant-Man, continuing the studio’s desire to cast actors that bring several dimensions to its onscreen heroes. The film’s plot is being kept under wraps.
“When Edgar Wright came to us with the idea of Paul Rudd, we felt a huge sense of relief because the first step in creating any Marvel Studios film is finding the right star," said Marvel's Kevin Feige. "We knew early on that we had found the right person in Paul. When he not only agreed to do it but became as enthusiastic as any actor we’d ever met with about doing the work, we knew we’d found the right guy. We couldn’t be more excited for our audiences to see what he’s going to do to bring Ant-Man to life.”