Ant-Man (film)

Ant-Man is the twelfth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will conclude Phase 2.

Plot
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Cast

 * Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
 * Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
 * Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne
 * Corey Stoll as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket
 * Michael Peña as Luis
 * David Dastmalchian as Kurt
 * John Slattery as Howard Stark
 * Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie Lang
 * Bobby Cannavale as Paxton
 * Judy Greer as Maggie Lang
 * Wood Harris as Gale
 * Gregg Turkington as Dale
 * T.I. as Dave
 * Martin Donovan as Mitchell Carson
 * To-be-confirmed actress as Janet van Dyne
 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
 * Jordi Mollà as Castillo
 * Lyndsi LaRose as Emily
 * To-be-confirmed actor as William Cross
 * Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
 * Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
 * Stan Lee as Bartender

Continuity and References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 * A Pingo Doce Soda poster appears. The bottling company Bruce Banner worked for in The Incredible Hulk bottled Pingo Doce Soda.
 * Howard Stark appears.
 * Peggy Carter appears.
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. appears.
 * Pym Particles are introduced.
 * Pym Technologies is introduced.
 * Cross Technologies is introduced.
 * The Avengers are mentioned.
 * The Ten Rings are indirectly mentioned.
 * Hank Pym is introduced.
 * Janet van Dyne/The Wasp is introduced.
 * Scott Lang is introduced.
 * Hope van Dyne is introduced.
 * Darren Cross is introduced.
 * William Cross is introduced.
 * Mitchell Carson is introduced.
 * The Iron Man armor is mentioned.
 * Captain America appears.
 * Sam Wilson/Falcon appears.
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier appears.
 * Tony Stark is mentioned.

Production History
Wright and Cornish originally wrote a treatment for Artisan that focused on Scott Lang as a burglar. Artisan, looking for a family-oriented movie, passed on the script. A few years later when Marvel executives Kevin Feige and Ari Arad asked if Wright was interested in writing a script on any of the Marvel titles, Wright offered the Ant-Man script.

In February 2007, Wright reported that the film was on hold while they worked on revising the script.

In March 2008, Wright told Empire magazine that a second draft of the script was being written. Known for being a comedic writer, the director noted that the film would not be overtly comedic, but that it would be "more of a full-on action adventure sci-fi film but with a comedic element," and that it would not be a spoof. He confirmed that, at that time, the script included both Henry Pym, as the original 1960s character from "Tales to Astonish", and Scott Lang as his 1980s/1990s successor in the Ant-Man role.

Wright says the story is very character-driven, and a new twist on an origins story. To influence his writing, he researched nanotechnology.

Since Edgar wrapped Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Wright said "I can't do two things at once, so [now that Scott Pilgrim is finished] I will return to doing another draft of [Ant-Man]."

Wright revealed to Josh Horowitz that they have already turned in a 3rd draft for the script.

In May, 2012, a "teaser" image of the movie was presented via Twitter by writer and director Edgar Wright. Feige stated as well that the movie was "as close as it’s ever been".

On June 28, 2012, it was revealed that Wright had filmed a Test Reel for the film.

On July 12, 2013, Wright revealed that the film's script is finished.

On August 26, 2013, Wright told Collider that the film will be in pre-production in October and will start filming next year.

On December 19, 2013, Paul Rudd was officially announced to have been cast as 'Ant-Man'.

On January 13, 2014, Michael Douglas was cast as Dr. Hank Pym. It was also confirmed that Paul Rudd would play Scott Lang in the film.

On February 6, 2014, Evangeline Lilly was announced to be in talks to play the female lead in the film. It was also confirmed that Michael Peña had been cast in an unspecified role.

On May 23, 2014, Edgar Wright dropped out from directing the film due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. Before Wright's departure, Eric Pearson was hired by Marvel to do a re-write on Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's scrpt.

On July 7, 2014, Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer were hired as production writers for the film's script.

On July 25, 2014, Patrick Wilson, Matt Gerald and Kevin Weisman dropped out of the film. Gerald and Weisman's characters were omitted from the revised script by McKay and Wilson left the project due to scheduling conflicts.

On September 30th, 2014, David Callaham was hired to rewrite the script during production.

On October 6, 2014, Martin Donova was cast in the film. On October 10, 2014, it was revealed that Paul Rudd rewrote Edgar Wright's original screenplay with Adam McKay.

On December 10, 2014, Jordi Mollà was cast in the film and supporting characters first names were revealed.

Production
The film will be shot in San Francisco, California beginning on August 18, 2014 with additional photography being shot in Fayette County, Georgia. On December 4, 2014, Reed announced on his Twitter that principal photography has wrapped.

Trivia

 * Joseph Gordon-Levitt was considered for the role of Scott Lang/Ant-Man.
 * Jessica Chastain turned down the role of Hope van Dyne due to scheduling conflicts.
 * Director Edgar Wright is a big fan of Ant-Man and in 2003 proposed the film to Marvel, describing it as "an action-adventure comedy - a cross-genre action and special effects bonanza." He had been developing the movie since then, shooting a test reel, hiring the cast and was close to begin shooting the movie. Then in 2014 he dropped out due to 'creative differences' between him and Marvel.
 * Originally, the film was meant to focus on the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym. However, the filmmakers deemed Pym as having a too family-unfriendly history (Pym developed several split personalities, one of whom abused his girlfriend Janet) and instead decided to focus on Pym's successor Scott Lang, with Pym becoming a mentor and supporting character.
 * Ant-Man's helmet is influenced by the helmets of Iron Man and the Autobot Transformer Bumblebee.
 * (May 2014) Original director Edgar Wright left the project due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. He was attached to the project's pre-production for about eight years. Peyton Reed was announced as his replacement in early June the same year.
 * The film has been in development since the late 1980s. "Ant-Man" creator Stan Lee had made a pitch to New Line Entertainment but they found the premise too similar to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). The project thus languished in development hell for two decades.
 * When the role of Wasp (Hank Pym's lover and wife) was in the script, Rashida Jones was considered for the part.
 * Michael Douglas compared Hank Pym to his role as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra (2013): "Sometimes you've got to shake them up a little bit and have some fun."
 * Ant-Man is the first production to film in the sound stages at the new Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
 * In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark is the one who creates Ultron.
 * The director of this film, Peyton Reed, was considered to direct Guardians of the Galaxy, another Marvel Studios film, which was later directed by James Gunn. Reed was also attached at one point to direct Fantastic Four.
 * Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, and Gary Oldman were considered by Edgar Wright for the role of an older Dr. Hank Pym.
 * Adam McKay, Ruben Fleische, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Nicholas Stolle , Michael Dowse and David Wain were considered to direct the film, with McKay opting to rewrite the script instead.
 * Hank Pym's Yellowjacket identity from the comics will be use for Darren Cross as a supervillain name in the film.
 * Patrick Wilson was cast but after the movie was delayed, scheduling conflicts forced Wilson to drop out.
 * When Edgar Wright was first considering actors for an older Hank Pym. Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan and Gary Oldman were all considered before Michael Douglas was cast.
 * According to Michael Douglas, the costume that Paul Rudd wears had to be altered because of his muscles. Rudd had gone on an extensive training and workout regimen in order to build the proper muscle size for a superhero. But since Rudd had become so muscular, Douglas said "He was so cut, that they had to soften his costume up, with all the built-in six-packs and all of that."
 * Behind The Scenes video was shown on the Marvel special "Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!".