Original Ant-Man Director Edgar Wright Reveals ‘Happy Ending’ After Reuniting With Kevin Feige

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Over the past decade of filmmaking, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a well-oiled machine. But there have been plenty of twists and shakeups behind the camera, most of which have worked out quite well. For instance, Baby Driver director Edgar Wright was originally set to direct the first Ant-Man movie, before departing the project over creative differences. But the drama had a happy ending, as Wright recently resumed contact with Marvel's Kevin Feige.

Edgar Wright departed Ant-Man in 2014, after being with the project through its development process. This made way for director Peyton Reed to take the helm of the burgeoning franchise, while Wright was still credited as a screenwriter for the origin story. And while he's yet to do any further work in the MCU, the filmmaker recently spoke about his reunion with Kevin Feige, which came ahead of an article he participated in. In his words,

I thought it would be disingenuous of me to get through this article without mentioning the ‘M’ word once. So I did what I hadn’t done in six years – I just emailed Kevin. It was a really nice thing, and Kevin was really touched that I’d reached out to him directly and just said, ‘Hey’. Also it was funny after six years of no contact to email him just saying, ‘Kevin, I need you to write something for me, and I need it tomorrow!’ So it was nice, we basically reconnected over this article and it was very sweet. I’m very glad I did it, and I was very happy that his response was so- he was really touched that I had reached out, and I feel what he wrote was great. I told him that I read what he’d said about Aliens to James Cameron, which he said was just wild. So it was nice, it’s a nice happy ending to that story.

Sometimes things work out for the best. And while Edgar Wright has yet to make his official debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he helped develop Ant-Man ahead of principal photography. Years have gone by, and the filmmaker now feels comfortable coming back into contact with Kevin Feige and putting the drama behind him.

Edgar Wright's comments to Empire are sure to be comforting to moviegoers who were following the Ant-Man drama as it was happening in real time. It's been a number of years, with the franchise continuing to grow with the upcoming threequel Quantumania. It seems this time apart has allowed both Wright and Kevin Feige to bury the hatchet of their professional snafu, and move on in a healthy way.

Ant-Man's tenure in the MCU is currently available on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Obviously Edgar Wright isn't the first director to part ways with a studio over creative differences, and he certainly wasn't the last. It's only in major blockbusters like Star Wars or the MCU that this news manages to break the internet. In the end Peyton Reed stuck the landing with his first two Ant-Man movies, while Edgar Wright saw great success with Baby Driver. He's also got a new movie coming out this coming fall.

Edgar Wright still managed to help plant the seeds of Ant-Man, who would go on to become a major force in the greater MCU. Paul Rudd's signature character had his first major crossover in Captain America: Civil War, and was instrumental to the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame. Fans are eager to catch up with Scott Lang, especially since the threequel will seemingly transform his daughter Cassie into a superhero as well.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently in development, and Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho will arrive October 22nd. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.