Nanananananana - Ant Man!

Doesn't quite have the same `Batman' ring to it, but if Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright have their way...it will be ring 'a ding dingin' bitches. Last month I spoke to writer, director, comedian extraordinaire Joe Cornish about his stellar directorial debut Attack The Block. As well as gushing over the film's awesomeness and talking about his work with Edgar Wright on The Adventures Of TinTin script, I asked him about the possible Ant Man movie he's working on.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Ant Man is one of Marvel's lesser known superheroes (albeit with a considerable cult following) who first appeared in print in the sixties. There have been various incarnations of him since in comic books, but the basic storyline follows a brilliant scientist (is there any other kind?) who invents a substance that allowed him to change his size at will and communicate with insects. Right, so, a guy who can shrink to the size of an ant or the height of Goliath isn't exactly one of Marvel's more marketable heroes but you can't deny the potential. And neither can Cornish.
One of the more productive bromances in Hollywood at the moment is that of Cornish and Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) (R-L, above). The two had been longtime friends before Cornish had bit parts in Wright's Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, then Wright executive produced Attack The Block and most recently the duo reworked Stephan Moffat's script for The Adventures Of TinTin. They also wrote a draft script for a big screen adaptation of Ant Man, something Cornish says he's quite chuffed with.
"We’ve handed over the draft and are really happy with it," he says on the development status of the project.
"It’s in the hands of Marvel and Edgar now if they decide to do it.
"We’re pretty excited with the script and the direction we’ve taken."

Cornish says if it goes ahead, he will most likely serve in a producers role and Wright will direct. Although he was hesitant to reveal exactly what direction they've taken the character, other movie blogs have reported everything from Ant Man as a super spy to an action/comedy take on the story. Despite the stream of superhero flicks flying their way into our multiplexes, Cornish says there would still be room for an Ant Man movie. At least their version anyway.
"In a market place that’s crowded with superhero movies and comic book heroes we think we’ve got a pretty cool take on Ant Man that’s very unique," he says.

So just when will we see an Ant Man movie? On IMDBPro the film is officially listed as `in-development' with a 2014 release date attached. Marvel Studios co-President Kevin Feige is also attached as producer, naturally, having steered over 21 of the studios other major titles (such as X-Men and Thor) through to completion. With Marvel's Godfather Stan Lee now praising Cornish and Wright's version, we can only pray it's a matter of time until we're all chanting `nananananana - Ant Man!'