Marvel have announced Peyton Reed, the director of Bring It On and Yes Man, as their replacement for Edgar Wright as director of Ant-Man.
Deadline confirmed that Reed, who is also known for Down With Love and The Break-Up, has been selected as director, while the rumoured Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) will help with the script.
The script was rumoured to be the major reason for Wright and Joe Cornish’s departure and it’s unknown exactly what state it’s in following several rewrites, so it will be interesting to see how much of McKay’s comic sensibility comes through. Deadline does point out that Reed was in the running to direct Fantastic Four back in 2005, losing out to Tim Story.
Both Reed and McKay’s obvious comedy backgrounds would seem to indicate a certain tone that Marvel are going for. Reed’s certainly capable of strong visual style (Down With Love was a stylish and stylised homage to ’60s Rock Hudson/Doris Day comedies) so it’s worth looking further back on his CV to the excellent Bring It On and work on cult TV comedies like Mr Show, Upright Citizens Brigade and The Weird Al Show and not necessarily putting too much weight on the fact that he made The Break Up.
The cast, which includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Patrick Wilson, Michael Pena, and Corey Stoll, is expected to stay in place.
Ant-Man will be released on 17 July 2015. Find out more about the comics that inspired the film with new digital magazine Uncanny Comics.
