It took longer than expected, but Marvel's "Ant-Man" is finally underway and in its first week of production. After the production fell apart with Edgar Wright, the champion of the project for years, the film's future looked bleak.
However after a few uncertain weeks, Marvel landed its director in Peyton Reed, the helmer behind hits like "Bring It On" and "Yes Man." Along with Reed, the production secured its star in Paul Rudd and a stellar cast as well. "Ant-Man" features a cast that includes Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Abby Ryder Fortson, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, Gregg Turkington and rapper/actor T.I.
The first pic from the set has been released, and it appears that the film will be taking a darker tone than most expected. Sure it is just the first pic released, but there has definitely been buzz that the film is going to take a more morose and gritty look inside the life of Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. Flanking Lang will be his mentor, Hank Pym, played by multiple Oscar winner Michael Douglas.
According to USA Today, Scott Lang is an ex-con and a thief who finds a figure to look up to in Douglas' Dr. Hank Pym, a genius scientist and the inventor of a technology that enables a man to shrink down to the size of an insect exponentially increasing their strength. In a power struggle, Pym's star employee who Marvel enthusiasts will know as "Yellowjacket," tries to use the doctor's tech for his own evil purposes. Pym and Lang eventually team up to plan an overzealous heist that just might save the world.
"The way technology has advanced just in the last few years, picturing this world, what they can do with this kind of story line and character, I thought this could be something that could be very strange and hasn't been seen before," Rudd told USA TODAY in July. "I was really excited about being a part of something like that."
Also in the fray is Howard Stark, the father of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) whose appearance in "Ant-Man" is a definite hint as to how the character will tie into the bigger picture of the Marvel cinematic universe. So it looks like fans can expect to see some flashbacks in the film that will shape and integrate into the ever-increasing Marvel world. "Ant-Man" is shooting in San Francisco before heading to Atlanta. If the first still of Rudd as "Ant-Man' is any indication, director Reed is going for a darkerand edgier tone.
