Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly Nearly Quit Ant-Man After Edgar Wright Exit
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly almost departed Ant-Man after its original director, Edgar Wright, exited. The Marvel Cinematic Universe begin with Iron Man in 2008 and has been going strong for the past 13 years with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Wright was announced to be directing Ant-Man in 2006 when the film was meant to be released in Phase 1 of the MCU.
Ant-Man was in development for eight years before Wright left the project in 2014. All parties involved cite creative differences as the primary reason the collaboration between Wright and Disney/Marvel didn’t work out, with Wright later saying, ‘I wanted to make a Marvel movie but I don’t think they really wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie." The setback from the change in directors didn’t seem to delay production of the film back as it was released in 2015. Peyton Reed was tapped to direct the film after Wright’s departure. Reed would go on to direct Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 and is returning to direct Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for 2023.
Now, Marvel fans get a clearer understanding of exactly how disastrous Wright’s exit could have been for Ant-Man from Tara Bennett and Paul Terry’s new book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In their book, Bennett and Terry reveal that Rudd and Lilly both reconsidered their roles in the film after hearing Wright was no longer attached to the project. Both actors were concerned about the impact the change in director would have on the film they had been developing with Wright with Rudd even discussing getting Wright back with Marvel President Kevin Feige. Read Rudd and Lilly's comments below:
Rudd: "When I found out I was buying groceries in upstate New York, and I got a call. My manager said, 'Well, I've got some bad news.' I knew immediately. Then Edgar called, and I clicked over. And then I stood in the parking lot of an A&P for about an hour and a half talking to Kevin [Feige] about, 'What are you gonna do? We have to try and get Edgar back.' I mean, I was really worried and nervous."
Lilly: "Being the blue-collar, underdog person that I am, I assumed the big brass were muscling out this passionate creative who had built something over eight years with all of his blood, sweat, toil, and love, and that it was an injustice. And I was so glad that I hadn't signed my contract yet. I really was prepared to walk with him. I went through the process I'd been through already: I'd read the script, gone through script notes and creative discussions, and I thought, 'That doesn't reflect what my experience has been, so maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe there's a good reason for the split, on both sides.'"
In the book, Brad Winderbaum, a production and development executive at Marvel Studios, further explains that Wright’s Ant-Man had been timed to be made in 2006, which wouldn’t have allowed Wright to work on Scott Pilgrim. The entire structure of the MCU would be different because Ant-Man would have been part of Phase 1 and consequently in the first Avengers film. The concern was the potential for Wright’s Ant-Man to be isolated too much to be involved in the shared universe. Winderbaum says "There's a universe outside a single film that can't be ignored...Edgar, to his credit, really did try to make it work. It just was untenable."
Despite their initial hesitance about the change in director, Rudd and Lilly kept their roles in the film. Rudd later praised Adam McKay for his work on the script rewrites that happened after Wright’s departure and was happy with his experience working on the film with Reed. However, Ant-Man was not as successful as other Marvel films; both the first and second movie are in the bottom ten for box office earnings. It is tough to say what exactly caused these films to earn less than others in the MCU, especially considering the long development period and the change in director. Audiences will never know what could have come from Wright’s Ant-Man, but Reed’s films are fun and did well with audiences.
Source: The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe