Development of Ant-Man began in April 2006, with the hiring of Wright to direct and co-write with Cornish. By April 2011, Wright and Cornish had completed three drafts of the script and Wright shot test footage for the film in July 2012. Pre-production began in October 2013 after being put on hold so that Wright could complete The World's End. Casting began in December 2013, with the hiring of Rudd to play Lang. In May 2014, Wright left the project citing creative differences, though he still received screenplay and story credits with Cornish as well as an executive producer credit. The following month, Reed was brought in as Wright's replacement, while McKay was hired to contribute to the script with Rudd. Principal photography took place between August and December 2014 in San Francisco and Metro Atlanta.
Ant-Man held its world premiere in Los Angeles on June 29, 2015, and was released in North America on July 17, 2015, in 3D and IMAX 3D.
Plot
In 1989, scientist Hank Pym resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D. after discovering that they attempted to replicate his Ant-Man shrinking technology. Believing the technology is dangerous, Pym vows to hide it as long as he lives.
In the present day, Pym's estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne, and former protégé, Darren Cross, have forced him out of his own company. Cross is close to perfecting a shrinking suit of his own, the Yellowjacket, which horrifies Pym.
Upon his release from prison, well-meaning thief Scott Lang moves in with his old cellmate, Luis. Lang's ex-wife, Maggie – engaged to policeman Jim Paxton – agrees to let Lang see his daughter Cassie if he provides child support. Unable to hold a job due to his criminal record, Lang agrees to join Luis' gang and commit a burglary to get money. Lang breaks into a house and cracks its safe, but only finds what he believes to be an old motorcycle suit, which he takes home. After trying the suit on, Lang accidentally shrinks to the size of an insect. Terrified by the experience, he returns the suit to the house, but is arrested on the way out. Pym, the homeowner, visits Lang in jail and smuggles the suit into his cell to help him break out.
At his home, Pym, who manipulated Lang through Luis into stealing the suit as a test, wants Lang to become the new Ant-Man to steal the Yellowjacket from Cross. Hope, who has been spying on Cross for Pym despite her strained relationship with her father, helps Pym train Lang to fight and to control ants. They send him to steal a device from the Avengers' headquarters, where he briefly fights Falcon. While Hope still shows anger towards Pym about her mother's death, he reveals that her mother, known as the Wasp, disappeared into a subatomic quantum realm to disable a Russian nuclear missile. Pym warns Lang that he could suffer a similar fate if he overrides his suit's safeguards.
Cross perfects the Yellowjacket and invites Pym to the unveiling ceremony. Lang, along with his gang and a swarm of flying ants, infiltrates the building during the event, sabotages the servers, and plants explosives. When he attempts to steal the Yellowjacket, he is trapped by Cross, who intends to sell both the Yellowjacket and Ant-Man suits to Hydra. Lang breaks free, defeats the Hydra agents, and pursues Cross as he escapes, while the explosives detonate, vaporizing the building.
Cross dons the Yellowjacket and fights Lang before Lang is arrested by Paxton. His mind addled by the imperfect shrinking technology, Cross holds Cassie hostage to lure Lang into another fight; this time, Lang shrinks to subatomic size to penetrate Cross' suit and sabotage it to shrink uncontrollably, killing Cross. Lang disappears into the quantum realm but manages to reverse the suit's mechanism and back to the real world.
In gratitude for Lang's heroism, Paxton covers for Lang to keep him out of prison. Seeing that Lang survived and returned from the quantum realm, Pym wonders if his wife is alive as well. Meanwhile, Lang meets up with Luis, who tells him that Falcon is looking for him.
In a mid-credits scene, Pym shows Hope a new Wasp prototype suit and offers it to her. In a post-credits scene, Falcon and Steve Rogers have Bucky Barnes in their custody. Unable to contact Tony Stark due to "the accords", Falcon mentions that he "knows a guy".
A former systems engineer at VistaCorp and petty criminal, who acquires a suit that allows him to shrink in size but increase in strength.[4][5][6][7][8] Regarding Rudd's casting, producer Kevin Feige said, "Look at that origin of the petty crook who comes into contact with a suit and does his best to make good, and then look at someone like Paul Rudd, who can do slightly unsavory things like break into people’s houses and still be charming and who you root for and whose redemption you will find satisfaction in."[5] On the character, Peyton Reed said, "He's not used to being a hero. He's more like George Clooney['s character Danny Ocean] in Ocean's Eleven. He’s a guy trying to create a new life for himself and find redemption." To get in shape for the role, Rudd worked with trainers and cut alcohol, fried foods and carbohydrates out of his diet.[9] Rudd stated that in preparation for his role, he "basically didn’t eat anything for about a year ... I took the Chris Pratt approach to training for an action movie. Eliminate anything fun for a year and then you can play a hero."[10] Rudd signed a multi-film contract with Marvel, with Feige saying it was "three[ films]-plus-plus to appear in other things."[2]
The daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne and a senior board member of Pym Technologies, who helps Darren Cross take over the company.[11][12][13][14][15] The film ends with van Dyne taking up the mantel of Wasp from her mother.[16] Describing her character, Lilly said, "I was raised by two superheroes. So, I'm a pretty screwed up human being. I am also fairly capable, strong, and kick-ass, which is wonderful to play, but the most fun to play was just how messed up she was from being raised by two superheroes. And the clear message sent by my name is that I'm not a big fan of my father and so I took my mother's name."[17] She added that van Dyne's "arc in the movie is trying to find a relationship" with Pym.[9] Originally cast by Wright, Lilly was reluctant to take the role after he left the project until she read the revised script and got a chance to meet with Reed.[13] Feige noted that van Dyne was the more obvious choice to take up the mantle of Ant-Man, being "infinitely more capable of actually being a superhero" than Lang, and that the reason she does not is because of Pym's experience with losing her mother, rather than sexism, which Feige felt would not be a problem for Pym in modern times. Subsequently, Feige stated that the film would hint at van Dyne eventually taking up the identity of Wasp from her mother.[16] Lilly signed a multi-film contract with Marvel.[18]
A former protégé of Pym, who takes over Pym's company, militarizes a similar version of the Ant-Man technology and creates the Yellowjacket suit.[12][14][19][20] Describing the suit, Stoll said, "Darren Cross... has a suit that is sort of the next generation of Ant-Man’s suit. It can do everything that Ant-Man can do, but more. It’s more badass, more militaristic, sleeker... sort of like if Apple had designed a battle suit."[21] As for his character, Stoll said, "He is not a villain in the vein of Thanos or Loki, who are villains that know it. [Cross] is a guy who is not that dissimilar from Michael Douglas' character, Hank Pym. A brilliant scientist, who is not ethically pure. I think a great thing about the whole movie is that everybody in this movie is in those shades of gray a little bit."[22] Unlike Rudd, who wore a practical costume as Ant-Man, Stoll wore a motion capture suit when performing as Yellowjacket. Reed explained that this decision was made early on when creating and filming with a real Yellowjacket costume was found to be unpractical.[23]
A police officer[15][24][25] who is engaged to Lang's ex-wife Maggie.[26] Cannavale stated that Rudd and McKay convinced him to join the film, saying, "They sort of pumped [my] part up a bit in [their rewrite] and they both called me and said, 'You've got to do this.' They called me before Marvel called. I really went on good faith because they're so secretive over there about the script. I just trusted them." He also added that the process felt like an indie film, instead of a large-scale blockbuster, and that he was able to improvise frequently, along with the other actors.[26]Patrick Wilson was originally cast in the role,[27] before leaving the film due to scheduling conflicts brought on by the filming delay.[28]
Lang's cellmate[24][25][29] and a member of his heist team.[30] Peña stated he modeled Luis' vocal style and positive outlook on life "on a friend of a friend", saying, "That's just the way he talks and the cadence. He's got this grin on the entire time and he doesn't care. He's the kind of guy where you're like 'Hey, what'd you do this weekend?' and he's like 'I went to jail, dawg,' with a smile on his face. Not a lot of people do that. Not a lot of people think of life on those terms."[31] Peña signed a multi-film contract with Marvel for three films.[32]
An Avenger who is a pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack.[33] On including Falcon, Reed said that it was not done just to include the character, rather "It served a plot point; a purpose in our story" and allowed them to enhance Peña's "tip montages", which were written by production writers Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer,[34] also adding Falcon "seemed like the right character — not a marquee character like Iron Man or Thor, but the right level of hero."[35] Rudd and McKay decided to include Falcon after watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[36]
The original Ant-Man who is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent,[38]entomologist and physicist, who in 1963 discovered the subatomic particles that make Ant-Man's transformation possible and later mentors Lang to take over the role.[6][7][19][39] Douglas compared his decision to join a superhero film to his role in Behind the Candelabra saying, "Sometimes—like [when] they didn't see you for Liberace—you've got to shake them up a little bit and have some fun."[40] Describing Pym, Douglas said, "He's sort of a Northern California, formal guy. He's lost control of his company. He lives in sort of a time warp. He was always a bit of a tinkerer. He's got a lab, plus a lot of other stuff, in his basement that we find out about. He's certainly bitter about what happened with his company and deeply scared of what the future might hold - because he himself, after having gotten small so many times, it's difficult. He looks and tries to find a guy that he can work with and has the right characteristics, which is [Scott]."[15] Douglas indicated that he would not be wearing the Ant-Man suit, saying, "My costume will be hung up and Paul will be wearing it in good form."[41]
In May 2000, Artisan Entertainment announced a deal with Marvel to coproduce, finance and distribute a film based on Ant-Man.[56] In 2003, Edgar Wright and his writing partner Joe Cornish wrote a treatment for Artisan, with Wright explaining, "We wrote this treatment revolving around the Scott Lang character, who was a burglar, so he could have gone slightly in the Elmore Leonard route, and they came back saying, 'Oh, we wanted to do something that was like a family thing'. I don't think it ever got sent to Marvel."[57] A year later, the duo pitched the film to Marvel Studios' then head of production, Kevin Feige.[9] In April 2006, Marvel Studios hired Wright to direct Ant-Man as part of the company's first slate of independently produced films, buoyed by a $525 million revolving film-financing facility. Wright also signed to co-write the screenplay with Cornish, based on a comic book series about an electronics expert who can shrink to the size of an insect and communicate with ants via a telepathic / cybernetic helmet, and to co-produce the film with his Big Talk Productions partner, Nira Park.[58]
"The thing I like about Ant-Man is that it's not like a secret power, there's no supernatural element or it's not a genetic thing. There's no gamma rays. It's just like the suit and the gas, so in that sense, it really appealed to me in terms that we could do something high-concept, really visual, cross-genre, sort of an action and special effects bonanza, but funny as well."
At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said he was intrigued by the story's high concept and character. Wright also stressed that the film would not be a spoof but an action-adventure with some comedic elements and would incorporate both the Hank Pym and Scott Lang incarnations of the character.[60] At the time, Wright said that he was looking to "do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60's, in sort of Tales to Astonish mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang's story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Hank Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him."[59]
In February 2007, Wright said that the project was in "a holding pattern" while the script was being revised.[61] He also said that he had been doing research for the film, stating "Obviously I can't interview anyone that's got shrinking serum, [but] in terms of who the characters are though – yeah. Nanotechnology and all that."[62] In March 2008, Wright said that the first draft of the script had been completed and he was working on the second.[63]
In February 2010, Stan Lee tweeted that he met with Wright for lunch, writing "To make up for my previous grievous error, here's a little item that may have escaped you. Marvel is prepping a movie starring-- Ant Man!". Lee continued, "I had lunch with the cool, young director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and, as you'd imagine, we had fun discussing the tiny hero".[64] Later in the week Wright told MTV News that there was no timetable for the film "Because that character isn't one of their biggest properties, it's not like a tentpole deadline ... It's more like me and [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige saying, 'Let's make a really good script.' We've always agreed on that — 'Let's make a good script that works, that's all about a great genre film, and that isn't necessarily relying on anything else'".[65] At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said that Ant-Man would not fit in the chronology of The Avengers as "it didn’t work with the kind of the angle that we were going to do with the origin that I’d written".[66]
In January 2011, Wright stated that he had resumed writing the script for the film following the conclusion of the international promotion for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.[67] In April 2011, Cornish said that he and Wright delivered the second draft of Ant-Man to Marvel.[68] At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright said "Since February, we've done two drafts of the script, and we just handed in a third draft".[69]
In May 2012, Feige said that the project was "as close as it's ever been" while Wright teased the film by tweeting a pictogram of Ant-Man.[70] In June 2012, Wright spent just under a week shooting footage for a reel that would be used to test out the potential look and tone of his movie, as well as to decide how convincing Ant-Man's powers look on screen.[71] At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Wright stated that Ant-Man would be happening and screened the test footage to the audience during the Marvel Studios panel.[72] Germain Lussier of /Film felt the footage worked and was "awesome", as "it had a totally different vibe from the other Marvel films. It was much more like something you’d recognize from Hot Fuzz." Lussier, along with Katy Rich of CinemaBlend, also enjoyed the costume design choice.[73][74] In October 2012, Disney scheduled the film for release on November 6, 2015.[75]
In January 2013, Feige stated that Ant-Man would be part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[76] In May 2013, Feige indicated that the screenplay needed to be modified in order to fit into the universe because the project had been in development before the first Iron Man film. Feige also stated that shooting was slated to begin sometime in 2014,[77] and that casting would begin towards the end of 2013.[78] In July 2013, Wright said that he and Cornish had completed the script for the film and that Marvel allowed him to delay its production so that he could complete The World's End,[79] as the film's producer Eric Fellner was diagnosed with cancer.[80]
In August 2013 after Joss Whedon, director of Avengers: Age of Ultron, announced that Hank Pym would not be Ultron's creator, Wright said Ultron was never a part of the story of Ant-Man.[81] Wright elaborated, "[Ultron] was never in my script. Because even just to sort of set up what Ant-Man does is enough for one movie",[82] and described Ant-Man as a stand-alone film. He said it would fit into to the larger continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explaining that "It is pretty standalone in the way we're linking it to the others. I like to make it standalone because I think the premise of it needs time. I want to put the crazy premise of it into a real world, which is why I think Iron Man really works because it's a relatively simple universe; it's relatable. I definitely want to go into finding a streamlined format where you use the origin format to introduce the main character and further adventures can bring other people into it."[83] Also in August, Wright stated that pre-production for Ant-Man would begin in October and filming would begin in 2014.[84] In September 2013, Disney moved the film's release date from November 6, 2015 to July 31, 2015.[85]
Pre-production
In October 2013, Wright tweeted a photograph from the production of the June 2012 test reel with the caption, "Now I'm back in LA, it's high time to finish a little something I've been working on."[86] By October 14, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd were being considered for the lead role.[87] However, Gordon-Levitt dismissed his consideration as a rumor.[88] Also in October, Kevin Feige stated that Ant-Man would be a "heist movie" and to expect a casting announcement for Hank Pym before the end of 2013.[89]
In November 2013, Feige stated that aspects of Eric O'Grady's Ant-Man would not be featured in the film.[90] By November 25, Rudd became the frontrunner to play Hank Pym, and casting for Pym's girlfriend had begun.[91] Also in November, the filmmakers' intentions to shoot in the UK were dashed due to a lack of studio space. Wright said, "Ironically, Ant-Man was meant to shoot in London but London is full because I guess that Pinewood extension got turned down," referring to the plan by Pinewood Shepperton to add 15 studios to their facility but was rejected in part by the local council in May 2013 because the project was eyeing protected land.[92][93] By the end of the month, the film was scheduled to be shot in the US instead.[94]
In December 2013, Wright, a fan of the comic book since childhood – owning copies of Tales to Astonish #27 featuring the "The Man in the Ant-Hill" storyline and Marvel Premiere #47 featuring the first appearance of Scott Lang,[95] spoke about the difference between Ant-Man and other films featuring size-changing saying, "The difference between Ant-Man and other shrinking movies is other shrinking movies are usually about somebody trapped small. This is different in that he can actually change size and he can do that at will, so it becomes more of a power than an impediment."[96] Wright also talked about the challenge of directing a superhero film saying, "It's a challenge to do. Shaun and Hot Fuzz and World's End are all R-rated films. I like the challenge of making a PG-13 film. Because you've got to entertain in a different way. You don't have the same tools. It's also different in terms of Scott Pilgrim. They're both adaptations. It's nice to be able to do an adaptation."[97] By December 19, Rudd was in negotiations to star in the film.[98][99] The following day, Marvel announced that Rudd had been cast as Ant-Man.[100]
In January 2014, Wright posted a screenshot on his blog from the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "To Steal an Ant-Man", which features Hank Pym and introduces the Scott Lang character, with the caption "homework".[101][102] On January 13, Michael Douglas was cast as Hank Pym and Rudd was confirmed to play Lang.[6] The following day, Michael Peña was offered an unspecified role in the film.[103] Later in January, filming was scheduled take place at Pinewood Atlanta in Fayette County, Georgia.[104] Also in January, Disney changed the release date once again, moving the film up to July 17, 2015 from July 31, 2015.[105] In February 2014, Evangeline Lilly entered early talks to portray the female lead.[11] In the same month, Wright announced on his blog that Bill Pope, who he worked with on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The World's End, would be his director of photography.[106] By March 2014, Wright and Cornish turned in a fifth draft of the script amid alleged disputes on the direction the script is taking. As well, Wright and Cornish wrote a scene intended for the post-credits of Avengers: Age of Ultron that would act as a prelude to the film.[107] Also in March 2014, Corey Stoll entered negotiations for an undisclosed role in the film[20] and by April, Patrick Wilson and Matt Gerald were cast in undisclosed roles.[108][109]
"Ant-Man is interesting because he was one of the original Avengers, which I think people forget about. So, I like that idea in the movie universe... I also like that it's this sort of passing of the torch. There's sort of a weird mentor / pupil thing happening between Michael Douglas' character Hank Pym and Scott Lang, which Paul Rudd plays. Hank Pym used to be old Ant-Man and he is trying to find someone to be the new Ant-Man. I like that. I think that's sort of a classic Marvel Comics thing and something that we really haven't seen in that universe."
On May 23, 2014, Marvel and Wright jointly announced that Wright was leaving the project, due to "differences in their vision of the film" and that the studio was closing in on a new director.[111] Pope also left the project in the wake of Wright's departure.[112] By May 30, Adam McKay had entered negotiations to replace Wright,[113] but pulled out of negotiations the next day.[114] On June 7, Marvel announced that Peyton Reed would direct the film, with McKay contributing to the film's script.[4] Other directors under consideration included Ruben Fleischer, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Nicholas Stoller, Michael Dowse, and David Wain.[115][116][117][118]
Later in the month, Feige stated the film was still intended to be released on the July 17, 2015 date, with production slated to begin on August 18, 2014.[119][120] Feige elaborated that "much of the movie will still be based very much on [Wright and Cornish's] draft and the DNA of what Edgar has created up to this point" with Reed stepping in to direct, and McKay reworking only parts of the script. "[Reed] wanted to be sure that he wasn’t just inheriting something or following someone else’s lead. Or wasn't inheriting something that the evil studio had watered down to be something bad", Feige continued. "He looked at everything, he talked with us, and he said 'Number one, I agree with the direction you're going in. And number two, I can add to it.'"[121]
McKay stated that Rudd helped him rewrite the script, saying, "I’ve always known Paul Rudd’s a really good writer from improvising with him on set, but I had no idea he was that good—he’s really great with dialogue. So the two of us holed up in hotel rooms on the east and west coast, and I think it was like six to eight weeks we just ground it out and did a giant rewrite of the script. I was really proud of what we did, I really thought we put some amazing stuff in there and built on an already strong script from Edgar Wright and sort of just enhanced some stuff."[122] Rudd elaborated, "The idea, the trajectory, the goal, and the blueprint of it all, is really Edgar and Joe. It’s their story. We changed some scenes, we added new sequences, we changed some characters, we added new characters. If you took the two scripts and held them up together they’d be very different—but the idea is all theirs."[123] Reed also offered contributions to the revised script as did Lilly and Stoll, contributing ideas to help flesh out their respective characters, with Lilly's character having a fuller arc and more action sequences as a result.[15] For their efforts, McKay and Rudd were credited as additional writers of the screenplay, with Wright and Cornish credited for the screenplay and story.[124] Wright also held an executive producer credit on the film.[125]
By the end of July, Wilson left the film due to scheduling conflicts brought on by the filming delay, and characters being played by Gerald and Kevin Weisman were cut from McKay's revised script.[28] Also, Reed indicated that filming would take place in San Francisco as well as Georgia.[126] In August 2014, Reed revealed that Scott Lang's daughter would appear in the film,[127] and Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer were hired to make further revisions to the script.[128] After reading the revised script, Evangeline Lilly said, "I saw with my own eyes that Marvel had just pulled the script into their world. I mean, they’ve established a universe, and everyone has come to expect a certain aesthetic [and] a certain feel for Marvel films. And what Edgar was creating was much more in the Edgar Wright camp of films. They were very different. And I feel like, if [Marvel] had created Edgar’s incredible vision — which would have been, like, classic comic book — it would have been such a riot to film [and] it would have been so much fun to watch. [But] it wouldn’t have fit in the Marvel Universe. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb, no matter how good it was. It just would have taken you away from this cohesive universe they’re trying to create. And therefore it ruins the suspended disbelief that they’ve built."[13]
Filming
Principal photography began on August 18, 2014 in San Francisco, with Russell Carpenter serving as cinematographer,[25] with the working titleBigfoot.[38] Scenes were scheduled to be shot in the Tenderloin neighborhood and Buena Vista Park.[129] By the end of September 2014, production on Ant-Man moved to Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia,[130] and David Callaham completed a rewrite of the film.[131] Filming also took place at the State Archives building in Downtown Atlanta,[132] to double as Pym Technologies, which is located on Treasure Island, San Francisco in the film.[133] In October 2014, Martin Donovan was added to the cast,[48] and Feige revealed that Ant-Man would no longer start Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would instead be the final film of Phase Two.[134] When told by /Film's Germain Lussier that this placement between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War made the film feel like an after thought, Feige replied,
It’s not [an after thought]. The truth is the phases mean a lot to me and some people but...Civil War is the start of Phase Three. It just is. And Ant-Man is a different kind of culmination of Phase Two because it very much is in the MCU. You meet new characters and you learn about Hank Pym and his lineage with the MCU over the years. But at the same time, it also picks up the thread of Age of Ultron in terms of heroes – major heroes, Avengers – coming from unexpected places... And in that way it connects a lot. Also, Hank Pym’s attitude towards Avengers, towards S.H.I.E.L.D, and kind of the cinematic universe in general, is much more informed after the events of Age of Ultron, and in a certain way, before the events of Civil War.[135]
Feige later expanded on this by saying, "we put Ant-Man at the end of Phase Two as opposed to the beginning of Phase Three, because it sets up a lot of the things you’re going to see heading into Phase Three, one of which is this mind-bending, reality-altering landscape [in Doctor Strange].[36] On December 5, 2014, Reed announced on social media that principal photography on Ant-Man had been completed.[136]
Post-production
Following the completion of principal photography, Marvel released an updated synopsis revealing that Jordi Mollà was included in the cast and the names of several supporting characters.[24] For scenes featuring shrunken characters, the filmmakers used macro photography and motion-capture technology. Co-producer Brad Winderbaum explained that, "There are cameras and lenses that make small areas look like the most epic landscapes. Then we're shooting motion capture with [Rudd] to insert Ant-Man into those environments."[9] Reed later expanded, saying, "The macrophotography is crucial, because we're using these Frazier lenses and these small, skater-cam things where you're able to get into these places. Then, we're doing this digital tiling of real surfaces. So the lighting, there were a lot of discussions about how, when you're shrunk, what's the light-play like? All these discussions of how light and sound and movement change. It was important to discuss that endlessly... Scale has to be figured out for every shot and angle. That's fun, but it's an insane amount of calculation."[137] Dan Lebental and Colby Parker, Jr. serve as film editors.[25] In March 2015, Hayley Atwell confirmed she was reprising her role as Peggy Carter in the film.[43] In April 2015, Reed stated that, while not completed yet, the film would be undergoing "a little bit of additional" filming.[138]
In June 2015, Feige confirmed that the character of van Dyne would be seen, though the film would not address Pym and van Dyne's infamous domestic abuse storyline in the comics, saying, "We hint at a temper in a way that people who know the stories might go, 'Oh, perhaps that's a bit of [Hank's] character,' but not in a way that would ever indicate [he beat his wife]. He has lost his wife in this, and it's what in many ways caused him to separate from S.H.I.E.L.D. and become a bit of a recluse now."[137] Also in the month, Reed confirmed there would be a post-credit sequence "that may tie into the other films."[139] Feige revealed the post-credit sequence was footage shot by the Russo brothers from Captain America: Civil War, saying the clip would be seen in that film, though it may be "different takes... different angles."[140] On June 25, 2015, Reed announced on social media that production of Ant-Man was officially complete.[141] In early July 2015, an international teaser trailer revealed that Anthony Mackie would appear in the film as Sam Wilson / Falcon.[33] Mackie appears in the post-credit sequence as well, along with Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan as Steve Rogers / Captain America and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier, respectively.[53] Also in the month, Reed revealed that the quantum realm in the film was MCU's version of the microverse.[34]
In February 2014, Wright tweeted that Steven Price would score the film.[106] However, Price left soon after Wright's departure from the project in May 2014.[112] In January 2015, Christophe Beck, who worked with Reed on Bring It On, was hired to replace Price.[144] Describing the film's score, Beck said, "For Ant-Man, I wanted to write a score in the grand symphonic tradition of my favorite superhero movies, with a sweeping scope and a big, catchy main theme. What makes this score stand out among other Marvel movies, though, is a sneaky sense of fun since it is, after all, not only a superhero movie, but also a heist comedy."[145] The soundtrack was released digitally on July 17, 2015 and is scheduled for a physical release on August 7.[146]
Release
Rudd at the world premiere of Ant-Man in Hollywood.
Ant-Man held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on June 29, 2015,[147] and opened the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival on July 14, 2015, along with Miss Hokusai.[148] The film was released in France on July 14,[149] and was released in North America on July 17,[105] in 3D and IMAX 3D.[150][151] The film was released in the United States in 3,800 theaters, with the breakdown of 3,100 3D screens, 361 IMAX screens, 388 large format screens and 133 D-Box screens.[149]Ant-Man had originally been scheduled for release on November 6, 2015.[75] In September 2013, the release was moved to July 31, 2015,[85] before changing for a final time to July 17, 2015 in January 2014.[105] An unfinished version of the film was screened on June 24, 2015 at CineEurope.[152]
Marketing
In March 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Ant-Man.[153][154] In July 2014, Reed, Rudd, Douglas, Lilly, and Stoll appeared at Marvel Studios' panel at the 2014 San Diego Comic–Con to help promote the film and screen a visual effects test featuring Rudd and Douglas.[19] In October 2014, Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso stated there are comic tie-in plans for the film.[155] In November 2014, ABC aired another one-hour television special titled, Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, which featured behind the scenes footage of Ant-Man.[156] Marvel Comics' February 2015 solicitations released in December 2014, revealed a two-issue comic tie-in, Marvel's Ant-Man Prelude, following Hank Pym as Ant-Man on a mission during the Cold War.[157] A second comic tie-in, Marvel's Ant-Man – Scott Lang: Small Time, was released digitally on March 3, 2015. It explains Lang's circumstances at the beginning of the film.[158]
In January 2015, Disney officially began the film's marketing campaign by releasing a miniature "ant-sized" teaser trailer, a full-sized version of the same teaser trailer, a poster, a cover on Entertainment Weekly, and a full-length trailer during the premiere of the television series Agent Carter. Scott Mendelson of Forbes, said "It was darn-clever for Disney to put out a miniature 'can't see anything without a microscope' version of the now-standard trailer for the trailer. I sighed just a little when they 'gave in' and released a human-sized version, realizing that Disney had just released what amounted to a teaser to a teaser to a trailer... But nonetheless, credit where credit is due, Disney was able to turn a single theatrical trailer into three separate news drops in about five days." Mendelson went on to say that "the peppy, witty trailer above is a general audience sell. Marvel knows the geeks will come if only to throw stones, but it's the mainstream audience that needs to be sold. So far, so good."[159] However, Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the trailer for its placement during the broadcast premiere of Agent Carter, its tone, its soundtrack and for being thematically similar to other trailers from Marvel Studios. McMillan concluded, "The Ant-Man trailer isn't bad, per se; it is, however, impressively underwhelming, which almost seems worse. Thanks to the last-minute exit of original writer-director Edgar Wright and the subsequent struggle to find a replacement, Ant-Man has become the movie that people are expecting to be Marvel's first failure, in critical if not financial terms, at least; this trailer, which fails to convince and gets by on goodwill for those involved and the Marvel brand as much as anything else, doesn't do enough — or anything, really — to persuade audiences that that's not the case."[160] The trailer generated 29 million views worldwide in three days, the third largest viewership for a Marvel Studios film, behind trailers for Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron.[161]
In April 2015, Marvel debuted a second trailer for Ant-Man. Mendelson said it was "frankly the Ant-Man trailer that we've been waiting for. It's not just funny and exciting, it's an 'Ah ha!' moment when we realize just what exactly an Ant-Man movie has to offer."[162] Also in April, miniature billboards promoting Ant-Man with battery-powered LED lights began appearing in Brisbane, Melbourne and other areas around Queensland, Australia as part of a street marketing campaign for the film.[163] In May 2015, Marvel, in partnership with Dolby Laboratories, Visa, and Raspberry Pi, announced the "Ant-Man Micro-Tech Challenge", aimed at females aged 14 through 18, to create DIY projects involving micro technology and readily accessible and found materials. Winners teamed with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education) programs in their areas to lead teams in recreating their projects.[164] On June 11, 2015, Marvel released posters featuring Ant-Man juxtaposed with Iron Man's armor, Captain America's shield, and Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Mendelson compared this to Disney's marketing campaign for Lilo & Stitch that put the protagonist into iconic scenes from other Disney cartoons.[165] Beginning June 12, a six-minute IMAX preview of the film was screened before showings of Jurassic World.[166] Additionally, beginning June 19, scenes from the film were shown at Disney California Adventure's Bug's Life Theater in 3D with in-theater effects.[167]
In early July 2015, Marvel began a viral marketing campaign featuring Leslie Bibb, reprising her role from the Iron Man films as journalist Christine Everhart, reporting for a faux news program. In the program, Everhart discuses the fallout from the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Lang's imprisonment,[168][169] and events leading to Captain America: Civil War.[8] Also in July, Michael Douglas and executives from Marvel Entertainment rang the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of the release of Ant-Man.[170]
As of July 19, 2015[update], Ant-Man has grossed $58 million in North America and $56.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $114.4 million.[3]
Ant-Man made $6.4 million from its Thursday night showings in North America, with 48% of tickets sales for IMAX and large format showings, and $23.4 million on its opening day, including Thursday's previews,[172] making it the second-lowest opening day for a Marvel film, only ahead of 2008's The Incredible Hulk ($21.4 million).[173] It fell 18% to earn $19.25 million on Saturday, and for its opening weekend total, earned an estimated $58 million.[172] It marked the second-lowest debut for Marvel behind the $55.4 million debut of The Incredible Hulk in 2008.[174] IMAX contributed $6.1 million to the opening gross, with premium large format screens comprising $6.4 million and Cinemark XD comprising $1.3 million, respectively. Though the film fell below its $60 million estimate, Disney nonetheless said it was content with the results and continued Marvel's streak of No. 1 opening films giving the studio its 12th consecutive win.[172] Disney also noted that the film drew the largest share of families (28%) and women (32%) of any Marvel superhero title.[174] It was also the biggest live-action opening ever for Rudd (breaking Knocked Up's record of $30.7 million) and a record opening for Douglas.[172]
For the film's international box office performance, comparisons was made with Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy.[175] It earned $56.4 million in its opening weekend (July 17–19) from 37 countries, debuting at fourth place at the international box office behind the Chinese film Monster Hunt, Minions and another Chinese film, Jian Bing Man,[174] as well as an IMAX opening of $9.1 million. The top openings were the UK ($6 million), Mexico ($5.6 million) and Russia ($4.9 million). It had the biggest opening for a first-installment Marvel film in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.[176]
Critical response
Template:Rotten Tomatoes score On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 64 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[177]CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade on an A+ to F scale.[172]
Justin Chang of Variety said the film "succeeds well enough as a genial diversion and sometimes a delightful one, predicated on the rarely heeded Hollywood wisdom that less really can be more."[178]Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "Although the story dynamics are fundamentally silly and the family stuff, with its parallel father-daughter melodrama, is elemental button-pushing, a good cast led by a winning Paul Rudd puts the nonsense over in reasonably disarming fashion."[179]Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Playful in unexpected ways and graced with a genuinely off-center sense of humor, Ant-Man (engagingly directed by Peyton Reed) is light on its feet the way the standard-issue Marvel behemoths never are."[180]A. O. Scott of The New York Times said, "This film is a passable piece of drone work from the ever-expanding Marvel-Disney colony."[181]
Conversely, Alonso Duralde of The Wrap said the film "serves up jokes that don't land and thrills that don't thrill."[182]Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ant-Man "is a lightweight, cliché-riddled origins story that veers between inside-joke comedy, ponderous redemption story lines and admittedly nifty CGI sequences that still seem relatively insignificant compared to the high stakes and city-shattering destruction that take place in most of the Avengers movies.[183] Catherine Shoard of The Guardian wrote, "Ant-Man is a cut-and-shut muddle, haunted by [Edgar Wright's] ghost, produced by a high-end hot dog factory, by turns giddying and stupefying.[184]Christopher Orr of The Atlantic said, "It's difficult to shake the sense that the film was assembled hurriedly and somewhat haphazardly. Which, from all available evidence, is exactly what happened."[185]
Future
In June 2015, Reed stated, "if we were lucky enough to be able to do a sequel or even a prequel, I'd be way into it. I've really fallen in love with these characters... [T]here's a lot of story to tell with Hank Pym."[186] In July 2015, Douglas expressed the desire to have his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones play Janet van Dyne.[187] Also in the month, Feige revealed that the studio had "a supercool idea for the next Ant-Man film, and if audiences want it, we’ll find a place to do it."[36]
^"Exclusive Interview : Edgar Wright". Moviehole.net. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2012. ((cite web)): |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; March 17, 2007 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"Edgar Wright talks Ant-Man". SFX. December 11, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"'Ant-Man' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. July 15, 2015. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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