Marvel was deeply entangled in bankruptcy battles when Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man brought both glory and money back to the brand. However, it appears the studio waited too long to achieve this feat, as they could have delivered another major superhero movie that could have hit it out of the park. Edgar Wright initially pitched the script for an Ant-Man movie way back in 2001. However, it wasn’t picked up until 2006.
From 2006 to 2011, Wright wrote three complete drafts of the script, along with Joe Cornish, but the project was neither a priority for the studio nor Wright during this period. Finally, when pre-production began in 2013, continuous interference from the Marvel Creative Committee (MCC) ensued. In 2014, Wright left the project, citing creative differences with the studio. Adam McKay was then hired to complete the script, along with actor Paul Rudd.
Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man Was Ruined By Marvel’s Studio Interference
In the recently released book, MCU: The Reigns of Marvel Studios, it was revealed that Edgar Wright had pitched the Ant-Man movie way back in 2001. He co-wrote the script along with his friend and comedian, Joe Cornish, and pitched it to Artisan Entertainment. Several of Marvel’s smaller properties, including Ant-Man, belonged to Artisan at the time.
However, when the property rights reverted back to Marvel, Wright remained attached to the project. He was officially hired in 2006, but Ant-Man was not a priority at that time, neither for the studio nor for Wright, who was busy with the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy movies. The duo had to write three drafts of scripts over the years until 2011, owing to the changing management at the studio.
This was reminiscent of what Zack Snyder went through for Justice League at Warner Bros. Finally when the script was finalized, their new challenge came in the form of the infamous MCC, which kept suggesting changes. These changes included unwarranted MCU references aimed solely at selling merchandise. In a poorly conceived move, the studio added an in-house writer to Ant-Man, which proved to be the breaking point for the Baby Driver director.
Wright finally walked away from his own project, noting that Marvel was very difficult to work with at the time. The studio later hired Adam McKay to complete the script with Paul Rudd. Interestingly, Rudd and a bulk of the Ant-Man story were Wright’s contributions to the movie. Wright and Cornish received credits for the screenplay in the final output.
Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man Remains Marvel’s Biggest ‘What If’ Moment
While Ant-Man turned out to be a success grossing $519.3 million at the box office, the studio certainly did doom Wright’s original vision for the movie. The brand even missed out on the opportunity to get a head start by delaying the project. The authors of the book believed that Wright could have made the movie he wanted if he hadn’t waited too long. The authors wrote:
“Edgar Wright wanted to make an Ant-Man movie, but he wanted it to reflect his vision, not the larger needs of the MCU—so much so, he walked away from his own film. It marks a significant “What If . . . ?” moment in the history of Marvel Studios: If Wright had filmed his Ant-Man script in the early years of Marvel, he likely would have been able to make it his way, and he might have even shifted the trajectory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, infusing it with his own sensibility and humor. He just waited too long.”
The MCC proved to be a headache for multiple MCU movies at the time. It wasn’t until it almost got Kevin Feige fired that Disney intervened and brought Marvel Studios entirely under its purview. This marked the end of the committee and the interfering hands of Marvel president Ike Perlmutter.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is now available for purchase on Amazon.
