Ant-Man Loses Patrick Wilson, Two More

Hey, remember when Marvel's Ant-Man was a hot mess? Well, let the record show that production hasn't exactly completely stabilized. Three more actors who were already confirmed for the project have reportedly exited the project, including the handsome, charming and always dependable Patrick Wilson.

Upon knee-jerk reaction, it sounds like a whole bunch of drama drama, but if Deadline is to be believed, there isn't a whole lot of animosity here. Their sources say that Patrick Wilson was forced to leave because of scheduling conflicts that were created when the production of Ant-Man got pushed back following director Edgar Wright’s departure earlier this summer. There was allegedly just no way he could get it done before his new commitments. As for the other two, Matt Gerald and Kevin Weisman, they were allegedly written out of the script, which isn’t too much of a surprise given that the script underwent some overhaul when Adam McKay was hired to work on a new draft.

Also helping to lessen the blow to a degree is the fact that we haven’t exactly become super attached to the characters played by Patrick Wilson, Matt Gerald and Kevin Weisman – mostly because their roles have been shrouded in mystery ever since their casting was announced. It’s worth mentioning that Gerald has previously played a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – appearing as a tough prisoner opposite Sir Ben Kingsley in the Marvel One Shot All Hail The King, but it was never confirmed that he was playing the same guy and the names of the parts played by Wilson and Weisman have always been kept under wraps.

Tomorrow is set to be a huge day for Ant-Man, as we expect to see the likes of Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly and director Peyton Reed take the stage at San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel Studios presentation tomorrow evening. It’s hard to say how they will address losing three actors as production is about to get started, and it’s even possible that they won’t mention it at all. We’ll be present at the panel covering every minute, so you’ll be able to find all of the information you want right here when the time comes.

Otherwise, stay tuned over the next couple weeks as Marvel Studios extends its reach to try and find someone who can replace Patrick Wilson in the cast. While it’s hard to make any guesses about possible replacements without knowing who the character is, who is a Patrick Wilson-type who you would like to see join the Ant-Man cast? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.