Paul Rudd Talks Ant-Man Re-Write, Was 'Devastated' By Edgar Wright's Departure

Paul Rudd has shed some light on how he came to co-write the final script of Marvel’s troubled upcoming movie ‘Ant-Man.’

The news this week that Rudd was the film’s credited co-writer with Adam McKay - with original screenwriters Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish receiving ‘story by’ credit - came as a surprise to many.

Known primarily as an actor with a career spanning more than twenty years, ‘Ant-Man’ is only Rudd’s third writing credit following 2008’s ‘Role Models’ and a 2009 episode of TV show ‘Party Down.’

- Wright’s Diminished Ant-Man Credit
- Ant-Man ‘Passing The Torch’ Story
- Muted Trailer Reflects Production Troubles?

Rudd tells Entertainment Weekly how this came to pass - and how he was personally affected by Edgar Wright’s decision to step down from the project the writer-director had spent the best part of a decade nurturing.

Regarding his casting in the film - which Wright, a personal friend of the actor, had pushed for - Rudd says, “It all happened pretty quickly. Edgar called me, and then it was just out in all the trades. It was a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least.”

Asked if he was tempted to follow suit when the director quit over creative disagreements with the producers, Rudd replies, “Well, I mean, there are lots of things that go through your mind. There are certain things I can and can’t do, and then there also certain things I will and won’t say. But I was devastated, you know.”

As for how he came to co-write the new script with McKay, Rudd says, “It somewhat happened organically. When Edgar left, they were talking about directors and I knew Adam and Adam’s brilliant. So he came in to meet with them.”

- Daredevil Hitting Netflix In April
- Deadpool Supporting Cast In Talks
- Hawke ‘Came Close’ To Doctor Strange

"He and I had some ideas and so we spent some time rewriting it and wound up doing a rewrite on the whole thing. All of a sudden, this took on a whole new life and was much more intensive that I had maybe anticipated.

"I’ve actually found myself in these kinds of situations before—maybe not quite on this level, but not far off—where all of a sudden you’re writing scenes and taking on writing responsibilities. And that’s okay. But it’s a little strange writing something that’s really, truly out of my comfort zone.

"I wouldn’t know how to begin to write [something like this], but sometimes you just hit the ground running, I guess. Thankfully Adam was there.”

Although McKay - pictured with Rudd and the ‘Anchorman 2’ cast below - briefly looked set to take over from Wright as director, he ultimately passed on those duties, which went instead to ‘Bring It On’ director Peyton Reed (who had come close to directing ‘Fantastic Four’ a decade earlier).

Still, Rudd stresses that the work of Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish has by no means been rubbed out completely:

“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.”

Marvel are set to release ‘Ant-Man’ to cinemas on 17 July 2015.

- Every Superhero Movie Until 2020
- Gambit Solo Movie Gets Release Date
- New Avengers: Age Of Ultron Trailer Coming

Picture credit: Marvel, WENN