Merely a week after being told that Paul Rudd will indeed be starring in Edgar Wright’s highly-anticipated Ant-Man for Marvel, playing Scott Lang, we get word that none other than Hollywood legend and Liberace himself, Michael Douglas, has joined the film to play Hank Pym, the originator of the Pym Particles and the creator of the shrinky-dink technology.
In the comics, Hank Pym is renowned for being a violent spousal abuser, and there was some question as to whether the notoriously upbeat film franchise would go down such a dark path with its lead character. Turns out, no, they won’t. Rudd will be playing Scott Lang, who is a reformed thief who picks up the Ant-Mantle from Hank Pym, who can go ahead and be a wife beater, I guess, because he’s not the lead anymore.
From Marvel’s website, here’s what Marvel Entertainment Chieftain Kevin Feige had to say about the casting: “With Hank Pym’s rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves. We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn’t be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life.”
Ant-Man will be in theaters here in the United States of America on July 31st, 2015. We’ll be sure to hydrate a pizza before riding our hoverboard to see it. What do you think of this news? Are you happy or unhappy about Pym being a shady older man? Let us know in the comments below, yo.
Okay. I gotta say it …. when did Hank’s grandpa ever appear in the series ?
I can’t fault Michael on this one.
Marvel is s***ing on its characters and feeding its former fans garbage by throwing money after things like this that don’t make sense.
Ang Lee’s Hulk, I’m lookin’ at you.
The film does not need Michael Douglas at all. I wish the directors would stop throwing bones to these old over the hill farts in Hollywood.
There are clearly some younger choices that could have played this role and done just as good a job or been better the the octogenarian Douglas. It appears the producers have no faith the project will be successful and are casting him for some name recognition. The problem is the wrinkly old, octogenarian Douglas name just
doesn’t have the star drawing power it did a decade ago. I’m definitely peeved someone threw the old dog a bone so he could still eat. They just ruined what probably would have been a good movie to go see:-(
I’m curious about the villain now. Darren Cross? Radioactive Man? Egghead? Or will director Wright have balls to make a superhero movie without actually a “main-villain”? I heard the rumours about heist-stylized movie, and that would fit the frames.
God I hope it’s the Radioactive Man 😀
i reserve judgement on this until i see it. I am sure he will be pretty good though.
I hope they do this right. Hank Pym is also the creator of Ultron, who is the antagonist of the next Avengers movie. That means we need Michael Douglass in the Avengers film as well.
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While not defending any violence towards women, is it fair to call a character a wife beater if he in the middle of a nervous breakdown, hits his wife once? Wife beater indicates that person has been doing it a long time and has a history of it. Pym’s character was more than just that one panel in a comic, sad that it is the only thing that you can ever associate with him. If he is that bad, then they should just scrap the movie altogether.
I’m OK with this idea, the Marvel movies are family focused so trying to introduce a hero who beats his wife isn’t a good idea and butchering the character to fit the hero mold isn’t any better. It’s a decent compromise where they can keep the character mostly intact and not have to display him as a good guy.
Apparently they don’t plan to have the character around for more than 1 film.
I have a feeling they are going to make him the older Pym that gets the suit stolen from him by Scott Lang. Then Pym has to teach Scott how to use the suit and reform him into a hero. Who uses the suit to get the ladies.
I’m still excited no matter what. I feel that this is going to be a visual feast that only Edgar Wright can bring the fans. I’m gonna reserve judgment until I see the movie and the stinger at the end.