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[richiek]

Another interview with Evangeline Lilly:

http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/evan...angeline-lilly-talks-her-new-book-and-ant-man

You recently spoke about having to rethink Ant-Man after Edgar Wright left – how close were you to actually leaving and what made you stay?

I was very close to leaving. I was holding out on signing my contract until I got to see the script that was the crux of the divide between Edgar Wright and Marvel. And I wanted to see if the script had in some way improved the project or kept the integrity of the project intact, in my opinion, or if something had been desperately lost and I would be leaving with Edgar.

In the end what I realised was that Edgar had written a script that I wanted to be in, he’d written a script that everybody would have loved to see – and I still feel that way, I would love to have seen Edgar Wright’s interpretation of Ant-Man – but he hadn’t written a script that would necessarily seamlessly fit into the Marvel universe that had already been established, and the new script that I read [did] fit.

All of a sudden I realised that this divide happened over, truly and purely, visionary differences, not because Marvel were being bullies or because they wanted a puppet for a director, but because they just had different visions of the story. And I liked their vision and I liked Edgar’s vision and I would really like to see both versions, but I’m just grateful that I get to be in at least one of them.

How different are the two?

I think what Edgar was doing was creating a comic book movie that would feel like you were watching a comic book coming to life, and Marvel make modern movies that are adaptations of a comic book story. They’re much more grounded in reality and grounded in simplicity and relatability, whereas comic books are fantastical. They’re very fantasy-driven and grounded in fantasy, rooted in fantasy, so that would be the greatest distinguishing factor between the films.

There’s been a lot of discussion around the Marvel slate, with six years worth of movies planned out, do you think that’s a positive or constructive thing?

What I think is very positive about it is that there’s a tendency nowadays for projects to come together in a panic, and casting to be done very last minute, writing to be done continuously while you shoot, and all because studios are running scared – they’re not sure what will sell. That stifles creativity – fear stifles creativity.

Marvel are so confident that what they’re doing is working, and that confidence creates an environment where everybody is free to play. I think that’s what happens when you line up all those projects and you start planning ahead, more thought and creativity goes into them and you have a chance to really massage them and make them perfect before they go out to the world. Instead of, in a blind panic, realising some trend has shifted and ‘we need this next zombie movie so let’s put it together and get it out to the audiences’ and it’s not actually fostered in any creativity. So I would actually say the opposite.

This makes me feel more hopeful about Ant-Man, despite its troubled production history.

 

[J10]

Wright was probably gonna go full Scott Pilgrim with it. I would have liked to see that. My favorite parts of Ang Lee's Hulk were the stylized split screen sections - something I'm surprised no one else has tried since.

 

[Dirtyshubb]

As much as I would have liked to see Wrights Ant Man as im a huge fan of his, from everything I have read I think its for the best things went down how they did. From what I can guess, the original script still worked after all these years because Wright had wanted it as standalone as possible and so not much would need changing but of course the film didn’t exist in a bubble and it needed to reflect the changes of Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron.

Im still hyped for Ant Man, im sure its gonna be a very fun film but I do worry that this will forever be known as ‘That film that would have been much better if Edger Wright had stayed on’, regardless of how good the new version is.

 

[GAMEPROFF]

Wright was probably gonna go full Scott Pilgrim with it. I would have liked to see that. My favorite parts of Ang Lee's Hulk were the stylized split screen sections - something I'm surprised no one else has tried since.

The split screens were amazing. To bad none other Superhero movie did this afterwards.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Wright was probably gonna go full Scott Pilgrim with it. I would have liked to see that. My favorite parts of Ang Lee's Hulk were the stylized split screen sections - something I'm surprised no one else has tried since.

Yep. This is what I'm thinking. Though I think it would have turned out great, I agree with Marvel that it doesn't make sense as part of their universe.

 

[ReplacementPelican]

Yep. This is what I'm thinking. Though I think it would have turned out great, I agree with Marvel that it doesn't make sense as part of their universe.

Yeah I have to agree with this as well, Marvel likely didn't want a 'comic book' style movie. Despite that being one of the only genres I feel they haven't crossed into, ironically.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Considering it was specifically the script that changed though (before even getting to the visual element), I'm curious about what comic book style parts of the story were in there. Like was it too campy in areas? Or was it more like fantastical plot elements that don't make sense in the real world (like Scott Pilgrim grabbing a 1up)? Or possibly both.

 

[dave is ok]

Considering it was specifically the script that changed though (before even getting to the visual element), I'm curious about what comic book style parts of the story were in there. Like was it too campy in areas? Or was it more like fantastical plot elements that don't make sense in the real world (like Scott Pilgrim grabbing a 1up)? Or possibly both.

Edgar Wright writes a lot of the visual element into his screenplays. Probably just tons of really quick cuts and shit like he normally does.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

None of this "comic page come to life" was really in the test footage. Wonder why.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Guess this is one of the downsides of a unified universe. Would have loved to see Wright's version.

 

[Real Hero]

Guess this is one of the downsides of a unified universe. Would have loved to see Wright's version.

Yeah it's shame that having a cohesive vision of how every film fits sorts of limits the more 'out there' visual styles but it works for them and I'm sure the film will still be decent.

 

[jmood88]

I have no idea why people think that visual style is why Edgar Wright left. It's pretty clear that it had to do with the story not connecting to the MCU.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Edgar Wright writes a lot of the visual element into his screenplays. Probably just tons of really quick cuts and shit like he normally does.

Though I'm sure that was part of it (and that a lot of that was in the script), knowing how much of the actual story changed, and that disagreements over the changed script is what specifically led to him leaving, it sounds like it was way more than visual style.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Though I'm sure that was part of it (and that a lot of that was in the script), knowing how much of the actual story changed, and that disagreements over the changed script is what specifically led to him leaving, it sounds like it was way more than visual style.

The problem was Wright wrote an Ant-Man movie for the MCU of 2006. In 2011, it was possible to update this script for a post-Avengers world and things wouldn't be that different.

It became increasingly difficult to not make major changes to the script in a post-Winter Soldier/Age of Ultron MCU, this is probably where Wright started to butt heads with Feige on changes they wanted to make to keep the story up-to-date, and where Feige started to say "enough is enough" in respect to keeping Wright attached despite the repeated delays to production. It may have not been Feige's call to make but he was probably one of the few defending Wright's involvement because in the end, the movie was basically their baby together from back before the MCU was even a thing.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

The problem was Wright wrote an Ant-Man movie for the MCU of 2006. In 2011, it was possible to update this script for a post-Avengers world and things wouldn't be that different.

It became increasingly difficult to not make major changes to the script in a post-Winter Soldier/Age of Ultron MCU, this is probably where Wright started to butt heads with Feige on changes they wanted to make to keep the story up-to-date, and where Feige started to say "enough is enough" in respect to keeping Wright attached despite the repeated delays to production. It may have not been Feige's call to make but he was probably one of the few defending Wright's involvement because in the end, the movie was basically their baby together from back before the MCU was even a thing.

Yep. I bet that was a huge part of it too. Still, that wouldn't necessarily account for the "comic book coming to life" or "fantastical/grounded in fantasy" elements Evangeline is talking about. That's not the first time she's described the original script that way either. I'm just curious how far it went in that direction and where. Hopefully that version of the script leaks one day or gets detailed at some point (after the movie releases of course).

 

[richiek]

Evangeline Lilly Says Ant-Man's in 'Good Hands' with Peyton Reed

“He was a delight. He actually in some ways reminded me a bit of Peter [Jackson]," she told IGN when promoting the final installment in The Hobbit trilogy. "He had a fantastic sense of humour, was extremely immersed in the comic world all his life, is a big fan-boy but also extremely strong in his vision.

"He knew what he needed, and he knew if we had it or if we didn’t have it, and it’s such a huge luxury as an actor to know that your director really knows what he wants. He knows when he’s got it and he knows when to move on. I feel like we’re in really good hands."

Lilly's really going to bat for Reed.

OTOH, the Hobbit movies haven't been so good...

 

[richiek]

More from Lilly:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/showbiz/feat-evangeline-lilly-hobbit/

CNN: You just wrapped "Ant-Man." What was that experience like?

Lilly: I've been astounded to discover how good to their teams and crew that Marvel are. They're so collaborative, so smart with their stories. They have rich, dynamic characters which are so much fun to play. I expected I'd be a cog in the wheel of a big machine -- I wasn't sure I'd like this experience. But I've been so astounded at how pleasurable the whole experience has been.

CNN: Who is your character, Hope Van Dyne?

Lilly: She is the daughter of the founders of The Avengers, Ant-Man and the Wasp. She is a very talented, intelligent, capable woman and a force to be reckoned with.

This one is very much a heist film. It has all the fun, tension and drama of a good heist film. The heist is being masterminded by myself, my father and Scott Lang.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

More from Lilly:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/showbiz/feat-evangeline-lilly-hobbit/

Lilly: She is the daughter of the founders of The Avengers, Ant-Man and the Wasp. She is a very talented, intelligent, capable woman and a force to be reckoned with.

uhhhh big retcon coming?

 

[fallengorn]

uhhhh big retcon coming?

Maybe, or she's just referring to her comic heritage.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Maybe, or she's just referring to her comic heritage.

Considering Hope is barely a character in the comics and they've really just pulled her name and made a new character from scratch, I dunno if Lilly would primarily refer to comics when talking about her role in the film. At this point she's probably well-versed in the story that's going on in the movie and she's going to be talking about that, not the 616's Red Queen.

I'm guessing they're going to reveal that Ant-Man and Wasp were working with Howard and Peggy in the past, and that's where Fury got the name for his new "Avengers Initiative".

 

[Orbis Tabula]

uhhhh big retcon coming?

I think there's a good chance they'll do something about how The Avengers were originally formed in the past, but the project was dropped, and Fury is the one who picked it back off and started it anew.

 

[J10]

Not a retcon. We already know Howard Stark and Fury came up with the Avengers Initiative. We don't know who else was involved.

 

[HooYaH]

Maybe, or she's just referring to her comic heritage.

Time Gem?

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

Maybe, or she's just referring to her comic heritage.

I was thinking that too, but what if Fury only reinitiated the Avengers Initiative in this time of need. What if there was another one back in the day? One that involved the Original Ant-Man, The Original Wasp and The Original Human Torch?

 

[Slayven]

Well not like they haven't done stories were there was a secret version of team that predates the team . What if Nick Fury didn't pull out the Avenger's name out of thin air?

 

[GPsych]

I think there's a good chance they'll do something about how The Avengers were originally formed in the past, but the project was dropped, and Fury is the one who picked it back off and started it anew.

In Avengers: Assemble, doesn't the SHIELD council say something about how The Avengers Initiative was scrapped? At the time, I of course thought they were referring to the modern team, but it's possible they were referring to an old 60s team. It's actually ambiguous.

 

[fallengorn]

Well not like they haven't done stories were there was a secret version of team that predates the team . What if Nick Fury didn't pull out the Avenger's name out of thin air?

It'd be pretty cheeky if the original Avengers were basically the UK TV series.

 

[Slayven]

It'd be pretty cheeky if the original Avengers were basically the UK TV series.

God willing it would be these guys

 

[richiek]

Considering Hope is barely a character in the comics and they've really just pulled her name and made a new character from scratch, I dunno if Lilly would primarily refer to comics when talking about her role in the film. At this point she's probably well-versed in the story that's going on in the movie and she's going to be talking about that, not the 616's Red Queen.

I'm guessing they're going to reveal that Ant-Man and Wasp were working with Howard and Peggy in the past, and that's where Fury got the name for his new "Avengers Initiative".

I hope Marvel makes a 60's period era TV series featuring Hank and Janet ala Agent Carter. If they can capture the mood of the early 60s Marvel comics, that'd be awesome.

I was thinking that too, but what if Fury only reinitiated the Avengers Initiative in this time of need. What if there was another one back in the day? One that involved the Original Ant-Man, The Original Wasp and The Original Human Torch?

Maybe this Torch serves as a proto JARVIS/Vision?

 

[Slayven]

I hope Marvel makes a 60's period era TV series featuring Hank and Janet ala Agent Carter. If they can capture the mood of the early 60s Marvel comics, that'd be awesome.

reminds of one of the best comics that no but me ever read. It deals with the time gap between Cap disappearing and the Fantastic Four appearing

 

[xxracerxx]

uhhhh big retcon coming?

We don't know if The Avenger Initiative had been done before.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Not a retcon. We already know Howard Stark and Fury came up with the Avengers Initiative. We don't know who else was involved.

yeah retcon's a bad choice of words, but as far as the public and the (current) Avengers themselves are concerned, they're the world's first team of superheroes. It will be a cool reveal in-universe when they find out about it.

But yeah, thinking about it more it makes perfect sense that SHIELD already attempted both the Avengers initiative and the Ultron initiative in the past and it didn't work out.

 

[xxracerxx]

yeah retcon's a bad choice of words, but as far as the public and the (current) Avengers themselves are concerned, they're the world's first team of superheroes. It will be a cool reveal in-universe when they find out about it.

But yeah, thinking about it more it makes perfect sense that SHIELD already attempted both the Avengers initiative and the Ultron initiative in the past and it didn't work out.

Maybe just to the public.

 

[number11]

I loved the way Watchmen introduced the 'original team'.. It will be cool if this movie has young Hank Pym and Nick Fury in the intro.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

More from Lilly:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/showbiz/feat-evangeline-lilly-hobbit/

So is she likely to become Wasp2 in this movie or no?

 

[odiin]

I know she was probably referring to the comics but how cool would this be:

Ant-Man, Wasp, The Human Torch an Namor ARE

The Secret Avengers - The Superhero team they didn't wan you to know about.

 

[Dai101]

Maybe this Torch serves as a proto JARVIS/Vision?

I'll be surprised if they don't. Wouldn't make sense that he was front and center in CA:TFA

 

[mreddie]

I know she was probably referring to the comics but how cool would this be:

Ant-Man, Wasp, The Human Torch an Namor ARE

The Secret Avengers - The Superhero team they didn't wan you to know about.

Hank, Janet, Peggy, and two other folks.

 

[Harpoon]

uhhhh big retcon coming?

Pretty sure she was just talking about them in regards to the comics.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

More from Lilly:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/showbiz/feat-evangeline-lilly-hobbit/

Considering Hope is barely a character in the comics and they've really just pulled her name and made a new character from scratch, I dunno if Lilly would primarily refer to comics when talking about her role in the film. At this point she's probably well-versed in the story that's going on in the movie and she's going to be talking about that, not the 616's Red Queen.

I'm guessing they're going to reveal that Ant-Man and Wasp were working with Howard and Peggy in the past, and that's where Fury got the name for his new "Avengers Initiative".

Yo, that's great if Hank and Janet founded the Avengers with Peggy and Stark. In-universe they're still important as fuck.

 

[Father_Brain]

The problem was Wright wrote an Ant-Man movie for the MCU of 2006. In 2011, it was possible to update this script for a post-Avengers world and things wouldn't be that different.

It became increasingly difficult to not make major changes to the script in a post-Winter Soldier/Age of Ultron MCU, this is probably where Wright started to butt heads with Feige on changes they wanted to make to keep the story up-to-date, and where Feige started to say "enough is enough" in respect to keeping Wright attached despite the repeated delays to production. It may have not been Feige's call to make but he was probably one of the few defending Wright's involvement because in the end, the movie was basically their baby together from back before the MCU was even a thing.

While I obviously can't say for sure without having seen AOU or read Wright's final draft, that doesn't quite wash with me.

By most indications, Ant-Man was always intended as a fairly self-contained film, and I'm skeptical that any of the events of AOU would have ramifications so massive that they couldn't be easily written around. It likely didn't reflect the present MCU enough for Marvel's taste, but probably more in the sense of lacking references and cameos than in the sense of having massive continuity problems.

I mean, it's (it was a?) heist film, not a massive, globe-spanning story with the fate of the universe at stake.

 

[richiek]

Interview with Evangeline Lilly on Empire (Ant-Man begins at around the 1 hour mark)

https://soundcloud.com/empiremagazine/141-evangeline-lilly-benedict-wong-december-12-2014

Lilly confirms that Ant-Man and Wasp are her parents and that she is not on really good terms with her father.

"I was raised by two superheroes," she said of Hope Van Dyne. "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 name is that I'm not a big fan of my father and so I took my mother's name."

 

[Catalix]

Evangeline has been this film's greatest PR asset.

She's single-handedly alleviated the many concerns I've had ever since Edgar left production.

 

[mreddie]

I think Douglas and Rudd would say the same if they were in a movies right now and the question about this would be asked.

Still, Lilly is redeeming everything...well almost...

I blame the lighting.

 

[Callibretto]

she's the elf chick in the hobbit movies right? man, I'm not a big fan of her character in that movie. hope she's better in AntMan

 

[richiek]

It's a rumor, but it's a pretty big megaton if true.

RUMOR: HOW WILL “ANT-MAN” CONNECT TO “CAPTAIN AMERICA 3″?

According to this anonymous party, ANT-MAN will take place alongside the events of AGE OF ULTRON, the fall-out of which will spur on the Superhuman Registration Act. While ANT-MAN is largely self-contained in nature, the references of the MCU will come from Pym’s past as a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the ’60s, having worked alongside Howard Stark, Arnim Zola and Alexander Pierce. However, in this flashback sequence, Pym will supposedly also have a run-in with a young military hot-head by the name of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who Marvel fans have last seen in THE INCREDIBLE HULK as played by William Hurt.

The party goes on to say S.H.I.E.L.D.’s downfall in THE WINTER SOLDIER forced Pym into the private sector, which makes him vulnerable and essentially serves as catalyst for the events that follow in ANT-MAN. And according to the party, a shooting draft of ANT-MAN’s post-credit stinger shows the older Ross re-appearing to Pym, claiming he’d been sent by Tony Stark. When asked why, Ross allegedly responds, “Haven’t you seen the news? We’re at war.”

The party also claims Ross will play a supporting role in CAPTAIN AMERICA 3, begrudgingly helping Tony Stark enforce the Superhero Registration Act and giving him military aid as Stark’s hesitant to use his own technology post-ULTRON. The party claims that rumors of Black Widow’s limited involvement in CAPTAIN AMERICA 3 is also true, as her character will be arrested for aiding fugitive superhumans in a power play by Stark (which will give actress Scarlett Johansson a break from the MCU to focus on her family), though the source says a potential Black Widow jailbreak in a future Marvel film may help bring Scott Lang’s Ant-Man into the AVENGERS fold.

Holy shit. This would definitely explain why Edgar Wright left the project. So many connections to past and future MCU films.

 

[ReplacementPelican]

It's a rumor, but it's a pretty big megaton if true.

RUMOR: HOW WILL “ANT-MAN” CONNECT TO “CAPTAIN AMERICA 3″?



Holy shit. This would definitely explain why Edgar Wright left the project. So many connections to past and future MCU films.

Oh wow, now there's a returning character which I didn't expect to see.

Red Hulk, please?

 

[Broken Joystick]

It's a rumor, but it's a pretty big megaton if true.

RUMOR: HOW WILL “ANT-MAN” CONNECT TO “CAPTAIN AMERICA 3″?



Holy shit. This would definitely explain why Edgar Wright left the project. So many connections to past and future MCU films.

There isn't a bit of that I don't like. Fuck me. Phase 3 is gon be good.

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

It's a rumor, but it's a pretty big megaton if true.

RUMOR: HOW WILL “ANT-MAN” CONNECT TO “CAPTAIN AMERICA 3″?



Holy shit. This would definitely explain why Edgar Wright left the project. So many connections to past and future MCU films.

Yeah that all sounds amazing. Cannot wait to see if it is true.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

It's a rumor, but it's a pretty big megaton if true.

RUMOR: HOW WILL “ANT-MAN” CONNECT TO “CAPTAIN AMERICA 3″?



Holy shit. This would definitely explain why Edgar Wright left the project. So many connections to past and future MCU films.

Fuck the Superhuman Registration Act. Stupid.