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Director Edgar Wright on the humor in Ant-Man and making it PG-13

Edgar Wright and his pals Simon Pegg and Nick Frost recently talked to SFX, and the site (of course) tried to get some details from the director on his ANT-MAN film for Marvel. They didn't get much from Wright, but he did share some information on the upcoming movie. Edgar Wright says one of the things he likes about Marvel's films is how they actually feel like comics.

“I think they do stand alone. I think that’s what’s kind of clever about the movies, is that they work sort of like the comic books. They’re standalone stories, and there are elements that link them. But I think that’s what makes The Avengers the treat that it is – it’s bringing six disparate characters together.”

Wright has only directed one PG-13 film (SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD), and he says he likes the challenge of making a film that's not rated R.

"But in a way, it’s a challenge. 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. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to do Ant-Man straight away and that I wanted to do World’s End. It was important to me that me and Simon do a purely original screenplay as our next movie. But it’s nice to have the opportunity to mix it up.”

Edgar Wright knows fans are eager to learn more about ANT-MAN (“I feel like people want so much information,” he sighs), and one thing many have wondered is how much humor will be in the film. Wright's previous films have been hilarious and the Marvel movies have quite a bit of humor as well, so how funny will ANT-MAN be? Wright says about the same as the other Marvel films.

“I think it would be as funny as the other Marvel movies that have come out."

What really excites me though is the type of humor Edgar Wright will be bringing to ANT-MAN. I feel like it's not just going to be cheesy one-liners and silly "getting to know your equipment" scenes in his film.

Some have wondered if Simon Pegg and/or Nick Frost will end up appearing in ANT-MAN. Pegg says he'd love to be in it, but doesn't believe he's right person for the lead, and doesn't want people to think that if you hire one of the three for a movie, you'll have to also hire the other two.

“If I was Edgar, I wouldn’t cast me in Ant-Man, because I think he obviously has to spread his wings as a director and be seen not to just come with me as a package. Same with Nick. We need to do things separately so we don’t ultimately get seen as coming as a double act. You know, Ant-Man would be enormous fun to be in, but I think Ant-Man himself has to be a lot younger than me for a start. And there probably isn’t a part for me. If Edgar asked me, I’d think about it. But as his friend and his lawyer, I would advise strongly against asking me.”

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were also asked if they have any interest in joining Marvel's cinematic universe in the future (with ANT-MAN or another film), and Frost says it's going to be a little harder for him because of his build.

"You’ll have to wait and see,” laughs Frost. “But which character would I be on screen? I don’t think there are many superheroes who are big men, essentially. Who do we have? I think my choices are really nil. I think Ben Grimm or the Rhino.”

After being informed that Paul Giamatti will be playing Rhino in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, Frost said, "Oh, then I could be Ben Grimm. Yeah, nice. Alright, I’m going to be Ben Grimm.”

Man, I'd love to sit down with them for a beer or two. Paul, you lucky bastard! Marvel is taking a big risk with ANT-MAN, but I'm positive that Edgar Wright will deliver a very funny and awesome film.

ANT-MAN will hit theaters July 31st, 2015.

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Published by
Jesse Giroux