Shortlist emerges for Ant-Man director's chair

UPDATED AGAIN: 5/31/14, 2:30 pm.

While Adam McKay was definitely in those "advanced talks" for the Ant-Mandirector's chair, he has taken himself out of the running, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This entire Ant-Mansaga is becoming a little difficult, but we expect Marvel to announce Edgar Wright's replacement in the next several days. If they don't (and even if they do), we have to wonder if the July 17th, 2015 release date is in danger.

UPDATED: 5/31/14, 10:47 am.

Varietyis now reporting that Anchormandirector Adam McKay is the most likely candidate to replace Edgar Wright on Ant-Man saying that he is in "advanced talks" with Marvel. This would reunite the director with Ant-Man star Paul Rudd, who he worked with on Anchormanand Anchorman 2.

- story updated by Mike Cecchini.

ORIGINAL STORY: 5/30/14

To outsiders, there are now warning sirens going off all around Marvel's planned Ant-Man movie. It's no secret that Edgar Wright had been working on it for the best part of a decade (having co-written the screenplay and been attached to direct for some time), and his departure - apparently over script rewrites that he neither wanted or liked - saw him walk away last week.

Marvel, however, remains undeterred, and has been insistent that the planned July 2015 release date still stands. That means production needs to get going in the next couple of months, and someone has to pick up a project that's basically been crafted by Edgar Wright for a long, long time.

So who is on the list of potential replacements for Wright? Well, if a new story over at The Hollywood Reporter is to be believed, then Marvel's choices are maintaining a comedy tone.

The names being mentioned are Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball, We're The Millers), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) and Adam McKay (Anchorman). Of those, McKay has form with comic book movies in the past, having reportedly been working on an adaptation of Garth Ennis'The Boysat the start of the decade (although the project never came to fruition).

Marvel, as always, is staying quiet until it has something official to announce. If that Ant-Manrelease date is to stand, expect that announcement to come sooner rather than later....

THR.

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