Well now…this was surprising.
Variety announced that Michael Douglas will play Hank Pym in Marvel’s Ant-Man to be directed by Edgar Wright. I think most of us were not ready for that casting choice.
It sets off a few interesting things.
1. This confirms that Paul Rudd will be playing Scott Lang, the second person to be Ant-Man in the comics.
2. This is the first BIG change that Marvel Movies has done to one of it’s characters.
Sure, they have changed things enough in the movies, but at their core, they are still the same concept in terms of their characters.
Having Hank Pym be 69 changes a great deal. In the comics, Hank and Scott are around the same age. Hank and Tony are colleagues that work together. Hank is still an active member of the Avengers.
This turns Hank into a senior character.
Now is this a bad thing? Nope. It’s a surprise to say the least, and a very big adjustment. Truthfully, we already had one of the biggest adjustments to the Marvel Concepts.
In the comics, the founding members of The Avengers were Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Giant-man/Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Marvel Movie universes founding Avengers are Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Adjustments were already made.
It’s pretty clear now that the Marvel Movies are pretty much a separate universe as much as the Ultimate Universe is a separate one from the regular Marvel U.
As for my feelings on the choice? Pretty damn great if you ask me.
Michael Douglas would have made a great Hank Pym even if he was much younger. He’s got the right attitude and the dark edge that Hank sadly is most known for. There are even rumors that we get to see a YOUNG Hank Pym fight crime as Ant-Man. Does that mean we get a sense of a Silver Age Marvel Cinematic Universe?? Will they cast a younger actor to play young Hank?
And how about Janet aka The Wasp aka Hank’s wife? Will she be aged too? Well, you DO remember that Michael Douglas is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones right? My hunch says no.
Overall, this is exciting, and I can’t wait to see what Edgar can bring out of Douglas. God, I hope to see Douglas in a Ant helmet.
Wow, Robert Redford AND Michael Douglas are part of the Marvel Universe? That is awesome.
Oh, and if you have Netflix, you might wanna check out season 2 of The Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes. Episode 5 specifically since that episode is called “To Steal an Ant-Man”. This episode might give you an idea on what to expect from the movie.
Source: VARIETY