Since 2015, Ant-Man has become a prominent player in the MCU thanks to Paul Rudd's terrific performance, his trilogy of solo movies, and his scene-stealing appearances in the other films where he teamed up with the Avengers.
However, the character's journey to his MCU debut in 2015 was a long and tedious one. Originally, Edgar Wright was going to direct the character's first solo film and he was attached to the project since the inception of the franchise.
Just months before the film was supposed to begin production, Wright exited the project due to creative differences although he was still credited as one of the writers. Peyton Reed took over the directing duty and ended up helming the entire trilogy.
Today, several fans are still wondering about Wright's original vision for the film. Given what we've seen in his filmography, we can pretty much say that his version would not have been the same as what Reed did.
Edgar Wright's Ant-Man Would Not Have Featured Any Other MCU Heroes
In an interview with The Direct, Ant-Man editor Colby Parker Jr. shared some of the details surrounding Wright's original vision for the film prior to his exit.
He revealed that the heist part of the story was originally going to feature a whopping number of 15 characters. In the final version that we saw under Reed, only three of Scott Lang's friends (Luis, Dave, and Kurt) assisted him on the heist.
"His film, it was still heist film. But remember how we have three mains. I think there were, like, 15 people within the gang, the gang that was going to do the big heist. I remember I never got to see his script," he said.
"But I remember hearing that once in discussions when all the big muckety mucks were in the room... [The heist] was going to be more of a collaborative effort and more of a 15-hander than a three-hander..."
The editor also revealed that Wright's original plan for the film would not have featured any other MCU heroes contrary to the final version where Anthony Mackie's Falcon appeared in a cameo while Captain American showed up in the post-credits scene.
"I don't think there would have been any other Marvel characters set up. I think he was going to be a standalone. He didn't want any other Marvel characters in the film... I don't think the Falcon would have been in Ant-Man," he shared.
It is clear from the little details that we learned here that Wright's version of the film would have been radically different and it won't have felt like it is part of a shared universe since there is a lack of connectivity with the other realms of the MCU at that point.
Also Read: Doctor Strange 3 Reportedly Adapting Time Runs Out Storyline
Whether Wright's vision for the film would have worked or not, it is still a what-if question that fans will continue to ponder for years and some of them even believed that losing the famed Shaun of the Dead director from the project was a missed opportunity given his status in today's cinema.
Ant-Man is available to stream on Disney+.
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