'Anchorman' Director Adam McKay in Talks to Helm 'Ant-Man'

With a July 2015 release date already on the calendar, Marvel has moved swiftly to replace Edgar Wright as the director of Ant-Man. In a move that should surprise fans and critics who expected Marvel to hire a no-name director to carry out the studio's bidding on Ant-Man (something Wright apparently wasn't eager to do), Variety reports that Anchorman director Adam McKay is in talks to helm Ant-Man.

No word from Marvel yet on the news, but if McKay is the new Ant-Man director, fans should be pleased. Not only does McKay come from a comedy background, previously working on Saturday Night Live along with directing and producing films like Anchorman, The Other Guys and Step Brothers, but McKay has worked with Ant-Man star Paul Rudd too.

This would be a big-name hire and a sign that just because things didn't work out between Marvel Studios and a talented director like Wright, it doesn't mean Marvel is ready to give up on bringing top-tier directors into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

McKay was previously brought up as a Wright replacement in a Hollywood Reporter article naming him, Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer and We're the Millers director Rawson Marshall Thurber as the frontrunners.