Evangeline Lilly has revealed that she almost pulled out of Ant-Man after Edgar Wright’s departure as director.
Lilly told Buzzfeed that she was “shocked and mortified” when she learnt that Wright had dropped out after years of work and was replaced by Peyton Reed.
She said: “We all, I think, signed on very enthusiastically with Edgar. We were excited to work with Edgar. We were fans of Edgar.”
At the point of Wright’s exit, Lilly had not yet signed a contract for Ant-Man and considered leaving the project.
“I had the choice to walk away, and I almost did. Because I thought, ‘Well, if it’s because Marvel are big bullies, and they just want a puppet and not someone with a vision, I’m not interested in being in this movie’. Which is what I was afraid of.”
However, after a rewrite by Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man‘s Scott Lang), Lilly decided that wasn’t the case and Marvel “had pulled the script into their world.”
She said: “I mean, they’ve established a universe and everyone has come to expect a certain aesthetic [and] a certain feel for Marvel films.
“What Edgar was creating was much more in the Edgar Wright camp of films. They were very different… If [Marvel] had created Edgar’s incredible vision – which would have been, like, classic comic book – it would have been such a riot to film [and] it would have been so much fun to watch.
“[But] it wouldn’t have fit in the Marvel Universe. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb, no matter how good it was. It just would have taken you away from this cohesive universe they’re trying to create.”
Ant-Man will be in cinemas on 17 July 2015. Find out more about the comics that inspired the film with the 100 All-Time Greatest Comics Bookazine.
