Will Ant-Man Be Marvel’s First Low-Budget Superhero Movie?

 

Last week, the rumor broke that Marvel Studios was considering instituting a line of lower-budget movies starring lesser-known characters in parallel with big budget productions like Avengers and Iron Man 2. Now, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is talking about Shawn of The Dead director Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man movie again. Coincidence?

Superhero Hype talked to Feige last week, and he had this to say about the constantly-rumored Ant Man project:

Edgar was in L.A. last week, we sat down, and we started working on a calendar of when to get him back into it once he finishes promoting ‘Scott Pilgrim,’ so I think towards the end of this year, early next year we’d start looking at early prep for that, but certainly for a release date after ‘The Avengers.’

On the subject of the studio making cheaper, more experimental movies starring B-list characters, he added:

It is something that we’re looking at the ongoing cinematic universe and where to go after ‘Avengers,’ which we look at as a beginning and not an ending. Listen, the truth is that there are thousands and thousands of characters… [C]ertainly we’re making a conscious effort of looking at the characters, whether they have marquee value or not, are just interesting stories and can continue to define, which is what I’ve been trying to do, almost coming up on ten years at Marvel, to continue to push the boundaries of what a comic book movie is and a definition of a comic book movie.

I think we can take that as confirmation that the Wright-directed Ant Man will happen… But will it come before the also-rumored Runaways?