There are various creative differences that have impacted the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its own way. Often we are left wondering how the MCU would have been if these creative differences were actually given some note and worked upon. There have been various details regarding these projects that have been revealed in the recently released book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These stories give us an idea of how the cinematic franchise has experienced such a massive success with the fans and continues to have this success. It was revealed that Evangeline Lily and Paul Rudd almost quit Ant-Man following the exit of Edgar Wright from the project.
Ant-Man
MCU had various plans that were based around the concept of Ant-Man before the character made its debut in a project with the same title. One of the biggest controversies with the project was the fact that the movie had to replace a rather important director. Edgar Wright left the project as the movie had been in development for 8 years starting from 2006. Initially, it was announced that the movie would be a part of Phase 1 with Edgar Wright as the director.
There were creative differences with the studio and Edgar Wright’s choices for the live-action interpretation of the character. Peyton Reed took on the project following him and it came out in 2015. There were certain elements from the movie that fans feel definitely were leftovers from how Edgar Wright would have carried out the project. Though most of the details regarding this change were not properly revealed to the audience at the time and people were left to wonder about it for themselves.
Details Regarding Edgar Wright’s Exit
Newer details regarding Edgar Wright’s exit from the movie were revealed in Tara Bennett and Paul Terry’s book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book revealed that both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly were considering leaving the project following Edgar Wright’s exit from the project. It is clear that the change in directors created concern in their heads regarding how this would have impacted the movie.
According to the book, Paul Rudd commented:
When I found out I was buying groceries in upstate New York, and I got a call. My manager said, ‘Well, I’ve got some bad news.’ I knew immediately. Then Edgar called, and I clicked over. And then I stood in the parking lot of an A&P for about an hour and a half talking to Kevin [Feige] about, ‘What are you gonna do? We have to try and get Edgar back.’ I mean, I was really worried and nervous.
At the same time, Evangeline Lilly had commented:
Being the blue-collar, underdog person that I am, I assumed the big brass were muscling out this passionate creative who had built something over eight years with all of his blood, sweat, toil, and love, and that it was an injustice. And I was so glad that I hadn’t signed my contract yet. I really was prepared to walk with him. I went through the process I’d been through already: I’d read the script, gone through script notes and creative discussions, and I thought, ‘That doesn’t reflect what my experience has been, so maybe I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe there’s a good reason for the split, on both sides.
Further explanation in the book from Brad Winderbaum, a production and development executive at Marvel Studios explained that Wright was originally supposed to make the project in 2006 but that would’ve affected his work on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. This would have led to Ant-Man being a part of the very first phase of MCU and further it would have led to Avengers film. But Wright’s Ant-Man would have deflected a lot from the original shared universe MCU was working towards. Winderbaum said, “There’s a universe outside a single film that can’t be ignored…Edgar, to his credit, really did try to make it work. It just was untenable.”
Even after all this, we were still able to get the two actors as a part of the project and they continue to be a part of the MCU in future projects too. Adam McKay had joined in for rewrites on the script which was praised by Paul Rudd following Edgar Wright’s exit from the film. Fans are left to wonder how Edgar Wright would have worked with the material considering he has directed some of the most beloved movies over the years.
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