It looks like Marvel has found its next leading man as Paul Rudd will indeed star as ‘Ant-Man’ in the upcoming movie directed by Edgar Wright…
You may currently know him best as Brian Fantana — the gun wielding ladies man from Anchorman — or even Phoebe Buffay’s husband from Friends, but now you’ll know Paul Rudd as Hank Pym aka Ant-Man.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on Wednesday that Rudd has signed on to star in the upcoming Marvel film directed by Edgar Wright:
Paul Rudd had been chosen to star in the movie, which is being directed by Edgar Wright and already has a release date of July 31, 2015.
Rudd was in contention for the role with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and although Rudd was the front-runner for some time, Marvel took its time pulling the trigger. Some speculate that when Gordon-Levitt became attached to Sandman, based on a character by Marvel’s rival, DC Entertainment, that only hastened the dealmaking.
Rudd is mostly known for his comedic roles in movies like ‘I Love You, Man‘ and “Role Models‘ so this will be a departure of him to take on a superhero film like ‘Ant-Man‘ but Marvel should be commended for going outside the box for a character like Pym, who is more scientist than action bad ass.
‘Ant-Man‘ is expected to pick up production in 2014 before being released in July 2015.
