Peyton Reed Explains Differences Between His ANT-MAN and Edgar Wright's Version
Regardless of the quality of director Peyton Reed's take on Marvel's Ant-Man — and I think we're all hoping he's made something great — the film will forever be linked to Edgar Wright, and movie fans will wonder about the movie he might have made if things worked out a little differently.
In the new issue of Empire Magazine (via The Playlist), Reed spoke a little about his new movie, and before we get to the Edgar Wright stuff, let's get one thing out of the way: we might see another character from the MCU appear in the movie. Here's what he said when asked:
"That's classified information. That's buried. It's possible."
Place your bets on who it could be in the comments below. Moving on...Reed also spoke about the awkwardness of taking over the movie after Wright and Marvel split:
"Was it a strange situation? Absolutely. One of my concerns upfront was, 'Someone else has developed this movie for a really long time. Can I come in and make it my own?' And that has absolutely been the case. For one thing Marvel [has] let me explore the dark side of Hank Pym, this tortured, guilt-ridden guy… [Edgar Wright and I] both acknowledged the general weirdness of the situation. It's all very odd, but it's been really nice to communicate with him."
So it sounds like the two filmmakers are cool with each other about the whole thing. But what is the main difference between the two versions of the film?
“I think the most defining difference between the two scripts was that Edgar's didn't take itself as seriously. It was fun and silly and brilliant[ly] irreverent - a romp from beginning to end, in classic English fashion. Whereas where we've gotten to is so much more American. There's tons of levity, but just as much emotion."
I don't blame Reed for trying to put his own spin on this movie, because he came into a practically impossible situation with what must have been a crazy burden on his shoulders and tried to make the best of it. But I have to admit: hearing the tone of Wright's movie, it just makes me want to see his version of Ant-Man even more. Obviously that's never going to happen, but it just adds more fuel to the "what if" fire that fans will be discussing for years to come. Here's hoping Reed's Ant-Man makes us forget a little bit of the behind-the-scenes drama and allows us to connect to the drama that's happening on screen. Check out some new photos below. Ant-Man opens on July 17th.