With Edgar Wright's departure from Ant-Man, covered extensively in previous posts, Marvel is now going to be in serious search mode for his replacement. The film was originally scheduled to start shooting in July, so Marvel has really a few weeks to find a replacement. There have, predictably, already been a few names thrown out there that are rumored to be on Marvel's short wish list. Adam Mckay, of Anchorman fame, is one of them. As are the directors of We are the Millers and Gangster Squad. All three of them are pretty mediocre choices in my humble opinion. That is why I have decided, much like I did with Episode VII, that I would list my top 5 choices to direct Ant-Man.
1) James Gunn
Films directed and/or written previously:
Super
Slither
Guardians of the Galaxy
Why he is right for Ant-Man:
Ok, hear me out on this one. I know Gunn just finished writing and directing Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel. But to me he seems to be a great choice to step in here for Wright and direct Ant-Man. I mean directing back to back Marvel films could be a bit much for Gunn to take. But when you look at the films he has made, particularly Super and Guardians, you can see how he could be right for more of a comedic sci-fi story, which is what Ant-Man is rumored to be. From what we have seen of Guardians, it would appear that Gunn can handle some of the more outlandish and quirky aspects of the Marvel universe. Ant-Man kind of falls into that territory in some ways as well.
Although I do suspect, given what I know about Ant-Man, that Wright was aiming to make the film include some political and spy elements to it as well as Wright is a huge Bond fan. Neither of these are Gunn's strong suit, based solely on his prior work, but I feel Gunn would do great with the more humor based aspects of the film and would be just fine with the action sequences and the visuals.
Why he might not do it:
There are several reasons why Gunn might not take this on, but the main one is simple fatigue. Gunn has just finished directing Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel. I would imagine he has just finished editing the film recently and I would have to assume he would like a break before he begins press for the film. With Ant-Man set to start filming in July, that would put the production of that film in direct conflict with Gunn's promotional commitments for Guardians. Now Marvel could let him out of those, but again I am not sure Gunn will want to jump right into another Marvel production so soon, let alone one that he would have little say in how it is made.
Odds of directing: Slim. The turnaround is just too close for Gunn to even consider it.
2) Sam Raimi
Films directed previously:
Spiderman
Spiderman 2
Spiderman 3
Oz-The Great and Poweful
Evil Dead
Why is right for Ant-Man:
Some could argue that Raimi, along with Bryan Singer, was one of the primary architects of the modern superhero movie. Raimi made arguably one of the best superhero movies of all time with Spiderman 2. He is also a director who can handle fantastical elements with aplomb and has a very unique and strong visual style. He works well with actors and seems to get good performances out of them in most of his films and he understands how to balance tonal shifts (Ok, lets exclude the out-of-left field Peter Parker song and dance number in Spiderman 3.).
I think Raimi could certainly handle the more comedic elements of Ant-Man as there is alot of comedy elements in many of his films, including some of his horror films with Evil Dead being the most prominent. He can shoot action and I feel would be ok with some of the more political elements of Ant-Man's screenplay (if any of Wright's ideas remain).
Why he might not do it:
Well I think first Raimi likes to have great control over the material he is working on. Given his prominence in the industry I think he has certainly earned the ability to do so. Which means he might have a problem coming in a shooting a script that was put together by Marvel, one with little wiggle room or play to it. I don't think Raimi would want to be under that kind of restraint and not be allowed to inject his own vision into the material.
The other problem is that Raimi may simply be too busy with other projects. He is producing alot of material right now but currently has no major production upcoming that he is directing. But I am sure he is developing something right now. Plus we have no idea how his contract with Sony is structured, if he still has any sort of contract with them. If he does there could be something in it that prevents him from directing any other Marvel property not owned by Sony. So that could be a hangup as well.
Odds of directing: Slim to none. He would be a fantastic choice for this film in my opinion. I just am unsure he would be interested given the circumstances he would find himself in should he choose to direct.
3) Danny Boyle
Films directed previously:
Trainspotting
Slumdog Millionaire
The Beach
127 Hours
28 Days Later
Why he is right for Ant-Man:
This one strictly is a pick just because I want to see what he would do with the material. His previous films do not automatically suggest that he would be right for this material. With that said, he definitely works well with actors and gets very good performances out of them. He is an Oscar winner and that certainly can't hurt Marvel at a time when they need some good PR for Ant-Man.
I don't think the more sci-fi elements of Ant-Man (the suit, the changes in size) will be too difficult for Boyle to overcome. I think, in fact, his visual choices when it comes to the changes in size Ant-Man is capable of would be very dynamic. I think, in fact, they might even match what Wright had in mind for the action involving the suit, something he called Size-Fu.
Boyle is a great director who makes films that, by and large, are of high quality. He works well with actors, can shoot action pretty well, and I think could work in a shared universe atmosphere like he would here. He is a solid pick and one of the few on this list that I want to have direct simply because I want to see what that film would look like.
Why he might not do it:
Boyle is probably another one, like Raimi, who wants alot of creative control over the material he directs. I am unsure he would work well with the restraints that Marvel would put on him to stay on script. In fact, I think, more than Raimi, Boyle would be more likely to butt heads with the Marvel brass on this and cause conflict on the set.
The other thing to consider is that Boyle simply may not be interested in directing a superhero film at all, even for Marvel. If you look at the past films he directed there is not alot of genre films there. Now that could simply be that Boyle went where the best material was, which is often not in genre filmmaking. Or it could be he doesn't have an interest in superhero fare. If that is the case that would be enough to sink any chance of him directing.
Chances of him directing: None. Boyle's Ant-Man could be one of the more interesting Marvel films to come out in some time. But sadly it is nothing but a "what if" at this point as Boyle would likely say no flat to this project.
4) Mike Newell
Films directed previously:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Great Expectations
Mona Lisa Smile
Donnie Brasco
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Why he is right for Ant-Man:
For evidence of that one need look no further than the fantastic job he did directing Goblet of Fire. Goblet is one of my favorite films in the Harry Potter series. Newell does a great job balancing the action heavy plot of the Wizard Cup with the incredibly emotional aspects, specifically the death of Cedric Diggory. In fact, I would point to that scene as one of the reasons he would be right here. I think he would absolutely deliver on the inner turmoil of Scott Lang and his love for his daughter. That is the linchpin the whole film will most likely hang on. And I think Newell would be able to deliver on those ideas very well and give Ant-Man the right emotional balance.
But looking at Potter again, it is clear Newell can shoot actions scenes well. All of the major Wizard Cup scenes are put together great and move very smoothly. Newell can work with CG well and he seems to do alot of the effects more practically than many directors, something that might benefit Ant-Man.
If you look at the rest of that list above you see all films that did a great job with the interpersonal relationships between character. The romantic films, particularly Four Weddings, do a great job of building romance between characters but also building tension from the lack of it as well. If Janet Van Dyke is going to show up here, I think there may be a push to show the beginnings of a romance between her and Hank Pym or Scott Lang. Newell could handle that just fine.
Why he might not do it:
Again we might be looking at someone who is simply not interested in working on a superhero film or working for Marvel as well. The fact that Newell directed Goblet of Fire seems to indicate he is willing to direct outside of his usual types of stories. But I still am unsure he would be interested in working with Marvel on this project, particularly this late in the game.
Changes of directing: Somewhat unlikely. I will rank him higher than the other three because I suspect if Marvel put together the right presentation, one where they sell him on their vision for the film, than I think Newell might sign on.
5) Duncan Jones
Films he directed previously:
Source Code
Moon
Why he is right for Ant-Man:
Both of the films Mr. Jones has directed to this point were strong science fiction stories with male figures cast center stage. Ant-Man is exactly that. I think visually Jones can bring some great things to this film and can again make the Size-Fu work onscreen in some dynamic and visually compelling ways. He can certainly handle the action and I really feel he would do a great job with his actors.
Jones is very much a strong voice in genre films and I think he would bring some great clout to this production.
Why he might not do it:
He is busy. Right now Jones is in post on the adaptation of the massively popular online game Warcraft.
Depending when he started that, it could 3-6 months before he might even be available to direct here. I doubt sincerely that Marvel is going to want to postpone production given that they have committed to a release date on the film. They would not be willing to wait for Jones to step in.
Chances of directing: Very little. Jones would make an inspired choice to direct here. But his current schedule looks to not really allow for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment