Quick check: have you ever directed anything? Are you available this summer? Are you a white dude? Do you have a pulse? Then you too will have the opportunity to reject the job directing Ant-Man. Our candidates who have passed on the job are considerable, and now there are two more names to toss on the pile. How do you feel about David Wain and Peyton Reed?
The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that David Wain and Peyton Reed are the two latest candidates to take on the job helming next summer's Ant-Man. According to the report, Marvel is putting a premium on people who can work with the assembled cast, ideally someone who has already. That cast, of course, includes Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena and Patrick Wilson, though it's clear they're mostly seeking someone who has worked with Rudd before. If he bolts, it doesn't look like Ant-Man will be able to secure another male lead with a shooting schedule fast approaching.
That at least gets David Wain, pictured above, through the door. Rudd and Wain have collaborated many times, most recently on the upcoming They Came Together. Wain seems to get the best out of Rudd, but it's not certain what else would qualify Wain for the job. Though he's one of the top comedy directors in the industry, Wain's know for favoring a heavily-conceptual attitude towards comedy and filmmaking, often poking fun at plot momentum in order to pursue elaborate and bizarre gags. They Came Together is apparently a feature-length joke about the romantic comedy genre, a gag that many audience members may not be into.
Reed has been down this road before; for the longest time, he was attached to a period-specific Fantastic Four back in the early aughts. Fox went with a more contemporary approach after his fifties homage Down With Love was a box office underperformer, and Reed hasn't flirted with the world of superheroics since. In the meantime, Reed has directed hits like The Break-Up and Yes Man, though he's still looking for his big breakout success. Currently, he's prepping The Fifth Beatle, which is being produced by Tom Hanks, but it's unclear if that project has any current momentum.
While Marvel has booked a Doctor Strange director, with that film theoretically poised for a 2016 debut, Ant-Man remains rudderless despite a July 17th date. Is it possible that, if they don't find a director soon, Marvel could bite the bullet and cancel this project entirely? Is it too late to just give Edgar Wright what he wants? Actually, yes – Marvel, can you please just go back and give Edgar Wright what he wants??? Could it have been so bad that you'd rather be on the phone with the director of The Break-Up? You tell us.
