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Adam McKay is in talks to direct Marvel Studios‘ Ant-Man, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. He would be stepping in for Edgar Wright, who exited the project last week.
THR earlier reported McKay was in contention with directors Rawson Marshall Thurber (We’re the Millers, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) and Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad), whom sources said were on Marvel president Kevin Feige‘s shortlist.
McKay is best known for directing the Anchorman films, where he worked with Ant-Man star Paul Rudd. The film is slated for July 17, 2015, a date Marvel said last week would not be affected by Wright’s surprise departure.
STORY: Why ‘Ant-Man’ Director Edgar Wright Exited Marvel’s Superhero Movie
Marvel and Wright said the director’s exit was due to creative differences, and sources say Marvel had been unhappy with Wright’s take on the project for weeks. Ant-Man was originally set to begin shooting June 2, but the production was put on hiatus while Feige ordered revisions on the script, which Wright co-wrote with Joe Cornish. Wright willingly made revisions earlier in the process, but sources say the new rewrites were made without his input, and he walked after receiving Marvel’s new version of the script early the week of May 19.
In addition to Rudd, Ant-Man‘s cast also includes Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll and Patrick Wilson.
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McKay just wrapped on the Will Ferrell–Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, and produces with Ferrell via their Gary Sanchez Productions and the female-centric spinoff banner, Gloria Sanchez Productions. He is repped by WME.
Ain’t It Cool News first reported the news.
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