Is Edgar Wright's 'Ant Man' movie finally making progress?

Writer/director posts a teasing photo on his Twitter account over the weekend

By Chris Eggertsen Monday, May 7, 2012 11:54 PM

Is Edgar Wright's 'Ant Man' movie finally making progress?

Credit: Marvel Entertainment

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In case you hadn't heard, a little movie called "The Avengers" made history this weekend by grossing $207.4 million in domestic sales in its first three days - an all-time record. Needless to say, that kind of dough bodes well for other Marvel superheroes who haven't yet made it to the big-screen. Superheroes like, say...Avengers founding member Ant-Man, perhaps?

Judging by "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" writer/director Edgar Wright's Twitter account, it seems a stand-alone movie featuring the shape-shifting crime-fighter (a.k.a. Henry Pym, Yellowjacket, Giant-Man, et al.) may be moving closer to fruition, with the filmmaker tweeting the following photo over the weekend, along with the words: "Received this in the mail. What can it mean?"

A cryptic Ant-Man image posted by Edgar Wright via Twitter

While the image featured in the photo clearly has something to do with Ant-Man, with only Wright's cryptic message to go by it could mean any number of things - which of course won't keep Marvel fans from endlessly speculating as to its implications. Does this mean Marvel is finally moving forward with Wright's long-discussed "Ant-Man" movie (a decision no doubt resulting from "The Avengers"' blockbuster numbers over the weekend)? Only time will tell...but hopes are certainly higher than they've ever been.

Are you hoping for a stand-alone Ant-Man movie, or would you rather he be featured as part of an ensemble? Sound off in the comments!

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Chris Eggertsen
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A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.

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weed4504

I adore Edgar Wright and think his three features are all amazing films. Yet I can't get excited about this project. It's something that no one is going to take seriously. As soon as the words "Ant Man" appear on the screen when people are watching previews, there will be laughter. I just don't see it. Some comics don't translate.
May 8, 2012 at 1:06AM EST Reply to Comment
- Prettok They said the same thing about Thor, captain America and Iron Man. The success of Nolans Batman made fans think that all comic book movies had to be taken seriously to succeed. The Avengers box office says different.
  May 8, 2012 at 9:52AM EST
- Those are different. I understand the sentiment that most comics are inherently silly and there are elements of those films that I'm sure were hard to deal with in terms in tone. But I maintain that seeing a normal person becoming a hero and fighting a super villain is one thing, it's another to have a man shrink down to miniature size and lead an army of ants.
  
  Once again, I love Wright and hope the film is great. I'm not counting it out. But the material just doesn't seem to me to be something that will fit in with the current crop of films that Marvel is releasing, and I don't think every comic deserves it's own movie. I have seen the trailer for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" a number of times in theaters and every time that title comes on screen, there is an audible rolling of the eyes that happens in the theaters. Some things people just find silly and I think "Ant Man" will be one of those.
  
  I'm mainly talking about box office and general audience reception here, not the quality of the film.
  May 8, 2012 at 10:16AM EST
- MP Yes, Ant Man commands ant, but he's also a genius in the field of biochemistry, along with expertise in the fields of quantum physics; robotics/cybernetics; artificial intelligence, and entomology. The movie isn't just going to be about some dude hanging out with ants. The guy created what turned out to be one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe. You don't think that's going to be touched upon? You should probably educate yourself about the character before coming to a uneducated conclusion. IT's like saying Iron Man is silly/generic because he's just a guy in a robot suit or Captain America is lame and no one is going to take a man dressed in the American flag seriously. There are ways to make these outlandish concepts accessible to audiences and make the characters as appealing to them as they are to those who've read the stories they were initially featured in. People keep saying that no one is going to accept superheroes that aren't household names like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, or the X-Men but the Marvel Studios films have proven differently time and time again. I believe the same thing will be the case for Ant Man.
  May 8, 2012 at 8:33PM EST
Eyes

Is this the best he can do? I wish Edgar Wright would make a film for grownups. He's got a hundred times the talent of people like Tarantino, who wouldn't be seen dead near this.
May 8, 2012 at 1:35AM EST Reply to Comment
- MP Superhero movies are for grownups too. Exhibit A: Avengers made over 200 million dollars this weekend. That money didn't come from children. Also, there are those that would consider the Kill Bill series as "not for grownups". I'm not one of those people, but still...
  May 8, 2012 at 8:24PM EST
potty break

I could dig it, and I have never read an "Ant Man" comic book. But I'd love to see a serious, top quality FX movie take on the insect world (none of that "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" stuff). It seems to be the last frontier for modern FX.
May 8, 2012 at 2:03AM EST Reply to Comment
- MP Well there aren't really very many Ant Man comics to speak of. The character (Hank Pym) had his own series in the 60's but has mostly been a staple of the Avengers comics since he was a founding member of the team and has appeared regularly in that franchise from then on. He's also changed his superhero times several times throughout his career and his powers include not just getting smaller but also getting much much bigger(hence his second alias Giant Man). I guess we'll see if that's touched upon in the movie though.
  May 8, 2012 at 8:42PM EST
raymond

ant man creates ultron who creates vision who has the brain patterns of wonder man then vision falls in love with scarlet witch so yes ant man is one of the most important Avengers of all time! it's not Marvels fault none of you actually read the comic book & don't know who he is, pick up a book & learn something for a change, i also want wasp that's ant mans wife by the way!
May 8, 2012 at 5:43AM EST Reply to Comment
- weed4504 I'm not saying it can't be a good movie, but it's very insider material that doesn't necessarily translate well to the screen. Marvel, believe it or not, is in the money making business and making a serious comic book film called "Ant Man" is going to make general audiences' eyes roll. It's just a fact.
  
  And I don't think anyone has ever seriously said "Go pick up a comic and learn something!" before and meant it. I especially don't think anyone will read a paragraph as poorly written as yours and take educational advise from you.
  May 8, 2012 at 9:59AM EST
- Prettok It doesn't have to be a "serious comic book film" to work.
  I look forward to this. When was the last time they made a shrinking person flick? "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" probably? That was over twenty years ago. Nothing in the CGI era so far.
  May 8, 2012 at 10:34AM EST
- weed4504 I'm counting all the Marvel films as "serious." I don't mean it has to be like The Dark Knight. But there are plenty of scenes in all the Marvel films where they aren't joking and want you to buy into the world and the characters and the action. I'm sure the film will have a lot of laughs in the hands of Wright but it will still need to work as a comic book adventure.
  
  I keep thinking of The Tick when I think about Ant-Man and how ridiculous The Tick was. People are okay with it but it was clearly a joke.
  
  I maintain if they have a scene with a man giving a speech to a bunch of ants and leading a charge with them and the words ANT MAN!! come up on the screen, audiences will groan.
  
  I could be wrong.
  May 8, 2012 at 1:36PM EST
- MP @WEED4504
  Based on those last 3 sentences I now realize you have no idea what you are talking about other than you know the characters name. Seriously, read up on the character before you ignorantly shoot him down as being accessible for audiences.
  May 9, 2012 at 4:35AM EST
- Once again, I'm not shooting down the idea that the movie could be good. I love Wright and I love comics and I do know about Ant Man and I know who he is and how he works in the Marvel universe.
  
  All I've been talking about is how general audiences will react to the character. Something like Spider-Man and Captain America get through because, whether people acknowledge this or not, they are major characters that a ton of audiences have at least heard of.
  
  Ant Man is a niche character. He isn't to comic fans, but definitely is to general audiences. I think his powers and abilities work in the comic, but I'm not sure how they'll translate to the screen. I'm sure they can and I trust Wright, but I'm sorry it offends you that I'm initially skeptical.
  
  We'll have to wait and see if the project even gets made. Wright has been talking about this for a few years now and has several other projects lined up.
  May 9, 2012 at 1:38PM EST
Jazzbarrel

Hey, am I the only one who saw Ant-Man's helmet over Cap's shoulder in the scene where he sees his new uniform for the first time?
May 8, 2012 at 7:58AM EST Reply to Comment
Jazzbarrel

Hey, am I the only one who saw Ant-Man's helmet over Cap's left shoulder in the scene where he sees his new uniform for the first time? Or was I just looking too hard for Easter eggs?
May 8, 2012 at 8:02AM EST Reply to Comment
Callum

I don't get the comments about this not translating well, people might hear antman and think it sounds stupid but if you see an awesome trailer , does the name really matter. Also let's remember one of the first marvel films was spiderman, and if people didnt know anything about marvel they Proberly thought that sounded stupid
May 8, 2012 at 6:18PM EST Reply to Comment
Nabeel khan

I'd want an individual movie based on the character Antman should be made first.
And then the character should be included in the Avenger's sequel, along with the Spiderman.

No doubt it'll break its predecessor's record.

We all will make it happen.
Inshallah.
May 17, 2012 at 10:41AM EST Reply to Comment
AntMan#1fan

I don't care what people say, Ant Man is my favourite Marvel comic book character and always will be. I'm super excited for this movie to come out. I will definitely be one of the first to go see it and I will purchase this movie when it comes out on blu-ray along with a bunch of other Ant Man memorabilia. Long Live Ant Man!! :D
May 25, 2012 at 7:38PM EST Reply to Comment

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Is Edgar Wright's 'Ant Man' movie finally making progress?

Writer/director posts a teasing photo on his Twitter account over the weekend