A week after Marvel Studios shocked the comic book community by announcing that Edgar Wright has left Ant-Man, a possible shortlist for potential replacements has surfaced. If the list is real, it means that the studio doesn’t want to stray too far from Wright’s comedic vision.
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the list includes Rawson Thurber, Adam McKay and Ruben Fleischer. All three directors have considerable comedy experience, especially McKay, who is a longtime Will Ferrell collaborator.
Thurber recently scored a hit with Warner Bros.’ We’re The Millers and also helmed the Ben Stiller comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Fleischer mixed comedy with multiple genres for Zombieland and Gangster Squad.
McKay is easily the best-known of the three. He runs Gary Sanchez Productions with Ferrell and directed both Anchorman movies. That means that he’s also familiar with Paul Rudd, who has been attached to the project for months.
Sources for THR also say that Warm Bodies director Jonathan Levine is also being considered by Marvel chief Kevin Feige.
Wright’s departure on May 23 was a complete shock since he’d been working on the project since 2006. It has been rumored that he left after the script was taken away from him and he was not happy with the result.
Marvel is still aiming to get Ant-Man in theaters on July 17, 2016.
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