Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
SFX The world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Disney Plus bundles
  • Best Sci Fi Movies
  • New Marvel TV Shows
  • New TV Shows
Recommended reading
Paul Rudd in Ant-Man
Marvel Movies 10 years later, Marvel fans are looking back at one of the most underrated MCU entries: Ant-Man
The cast of Thunderbolts standing in an elevator during the trailer for the upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movie.
Marvel Movies Thunderbolts director says earlier version of the Marvel movie's script was "kind of like a Die Hard thing"
Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost in Thunderbolts*
Marvel Movies 7 years after its release, Marvel fans are discussing how they feel about Ant-Man and the Wasp after Thunderbolts* reimagined Ghost for the better
Paul Rudd in Ant-Man
Marvel Movies After Thunderbolts, Marvel fans are desperate for two unlikely characters to share the screen again in Avengers: Doomsday
Michael Douglas as Hank Pym in the MCU
Marvel Movies Hank Pym actor Michael Douglas says he's done with the MCU: "I'm enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life"
Thunderbolts
Marvel Movies Thunderbolts director reveals he "really wanted" Man-Thing on the team, but another Marvel project got there first: "It all worked out for the best"
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Marvel Movies Marvel fans have rediscovered a minor Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania character that no one can actually remember: "I genuinely don’t know who the f*** this is"
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Action Movies

Ant-Man director chats about small scale and sequels

Features
By Nick Setchfield published 14 July 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Shrink rap

Shrink rap

"This is really a smaller scale movie for Marvel," says Peyton Reed, director of Ant-Man. If Reed realises hes just deployed the perfect pun he chooses not to acknowledge it. His films hero weaponises the very concept of smaller scale, after all an incredible shrinking man whose icky, insect-bossing powers make him one of the unlikelier players in the Marvel pantheon. Now hes made the big screen in a multi-generational tale that sees petty crim Scott Lang [Paul Rudd] inherit the hi-tech Ant-suit from original Silver Age crimefighter Henry Pym [Michael Douglas].

Reed had his own, rather more controversial legacy to inherit. Ant-Man was originally a dream project for fan fave director Edgar Wright. When Wright left the project in 2014 after almost a decade of development the internet, naturally, cried for blood. Reed was the man who braved the Twitter crossfire and stepped up to deliver the film to the screen.

Now hes briefly surfacing from what he calls deep, deep post-production, sparing time to talk to SFX while finessing Marvels latest stab at multiplex domination, the final film of Phase Two. Were getting the final visual effects shots, were mixing the reels, were doing last-minute visual tweaks and colour correction. Were finally seeing light at the end of the ant tunnel!

Read more in the latest issue of SFX. Click here for more excellent SFX articles. Or maybe you want to take advantage of some great offers on magazine subscriptions? You can find them here.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
What appealed to you about Ant-Man as a character?

What appealed to you about Ant-Man as a character?

I liked that the comic book version of the Avengers was a pretty eclectic group of heroes. It was Thor, it was Hulk and Iron Man and Ant-Man. I liked the creative ways in which the powers would come into play in battles. And I always liked that he was an underdog, that he almost had this inferiority complex about his powers and probably even his size compared to these other heroes. And when youre a kid and youre out playing with your action figures, the size of Ant-Man is very appealing. I think thats the case in our movie as well. When Ant-Man shrinks down and suddenly theres a whole action sequence that takes place on the floor or on a train set or something, theres a real parallel to how kids use their imagination.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Its a very different power set to any of the other Marvel heroes weve seen

Its a very different power set to any of the other Marvel heroes weve seen

Exactly. There are other characters who have been shape-shifters and things like that, but the shrinking concept is a hallowed tradition in motion pictures, from The Incredible Shrinking Man to Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. Its a very science fiction concept. We certainly thought about it as a superhero movie but also as a science fiction film, as a shrinking movie. Thats his primary power, so how are we going to visualise that in amazing new, inventive ways with the technology that we have? Then again our secret weapon is his other power, the ability to control ants Thats the one thats intriguing to me. With Ant-Man and the Hulk you really understand how those powers are powerful. With Ant-Man its, Oh, he can shrink! Thats cool, I get that! And he can control ants?! Well, whats that going to do? One of the things I loved in the comics, and even more so in our movie, is that were going to show the audiences full-on how that power is cool, and how those armies of ants can be marshalled into doing amazing things.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
You found yourself stepping into a project that was essentially Edgar Wrights baby. Was that a tough choice for you?

You found yourself stepping into a project that was essentially Edgar Wrights baby. Was that a tough choice for you?

Initially I thought, Well, heres a project that somebody else has developed off and on for a number of years. And I dont want to be involved in any movie that I cant make my own. Not out of a place of ego but as a comic book nerd. I have my own special relationship with the character of Ant-Man. I have my own thoughts about what I like and dont like about that character and what I think the tone of the movie should be. And then when I came in and met with Marvel and read the existing drafts and talked to them about the visualisation of the movie, that got me excited. This was a thing that was too good an opportunity to pass up. Any drama that had happened on Ant-Man far preceded me. All I knew is now theres no director on this movie, and I want to do it.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Youve got Yellowjacket as a foe, who was traditionally a hero in the comics. Why the choice to make him the villain in this?

Youve got Yellowjacket as a foe, who was traditionally a hero in the comics. Why the choice to make him the villain in this?

In the comics Yellowjacket was originally Hank Pym. And Hank Pym had what one might call a touch of schizophrenia. He was Ant-Man, he was Giant-Man, he was Goliath, he was Yellowjacket, he was briefly Wasp, and then he was back to Ant-Man. When it came time to do the movie I think the feeling was well, why not take Yellowjacket which is, design-wise, amazingly cool. And it just made sense for the cinematic version to use this character, Darren Cross, who existed in the comics he was the villain in Scott Langs first appearance in Marvel Premiere issue 47. It made sense to create a version where he was Pyms protg, and had inklings of this buried Ant-Man technology that Hank wouldnt necessarily share with him. Now hes on his own and free to replicate and maybe even better this technology, but for the absolute opposite reasons that Hank Pym did. You do kind of see Darren Crosss point of view. You see what it is that made him become so resentful of Hank Pym and what led him down this really dark path.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
This is a movie that ultimately has to be part of the Marvel machine. Is it a challenge to keep this films voice distinct and still be part of that juggernaut?

This is a movie that ultimately has to be part of the Marvel machine. Is it a challenge to keep this films voice distinct and still be part of that juggernaut?

Its interesting. You were asking about my decision-making process to come on this film. One of the things in the back of my mind was that these movies are huge, and extremely successful, and Marvel clearly has a way of doing things. Whats it going to be like to step into that environment? Im really pleased to report that not only do they allow idiosyncratic choices but they really encourage it, because no one is more aware of the danger of repeating themselves than Marvel. The cool thing about this universe which obviously parallels the Marvel comics universe that I grew up with is that you can create this larger universe that encompasses all these heroes, but also encompasses all these radically different tones. And to me thats kind of the equivalent of the comics world, where the artist who was drawing The Avengers was very different to the artist who was drawing Hulk, who was different from the artist drawing Iron Man and yet these characters could all show up in each others comic titles. Its astounding and now almost seems like a no-brainer, because theyve done it so well. But ten years ago it was almost unheard of. [Marvel] say, Lets make Ant-Man as distinctive and different as we can. I always look back at last year, 2014 they released Winter Soldier and they released Guardians Of The Galaxy. And I love both of those movies, but they could not be more tonally different. And they both succeed on their own and they both succeed as parts of that larger universe.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
So could an Ant-Man sequel have an equally different tone?

So could an Ant-Man sequel have an equally different tone?

I would be wide open, if we were fortunate enough to make a sequel to Ant-Man, to throw everything out of the window and go for a different tone. Itd be great!

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Nick Setchfield
Nick Setchfield
Social Links Navigation
Editor-at-Large, SFX Magazine

Nick Setchfield is the Editor-at-Large for SFX Magazine, writing features, reviews, interviews, and more for the monthly issues. However, he is also a freelance journalist and author with Titan Books. His original novels are called The War in the Dark, and The Spider Dance. He's also written a book on James Bond called Mission Statements. 

See more Movies Features
Read more
Paul Rudd in Ant-Man
10 years later, Marvel fans are looking back at one of the most underrated MCU entries: Ant-Man
The cast of Thunderbolts standing in an elevator during the trailer for the upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movie.
Thunderbolts director says earlier version of the Marvel movie's script was "kind of like a Die Hard thing"
Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost in Thunderbolts*
7 years after its release, Marvel fans are discussing how they feel about Ant-Man and the Wasp after Thunderbolts* reimagined Ghost for the better
Paul Rudd in Ant-Man
After Thunderbolts, Marvel fans are desperate for two unlikely characters to share the screen again in Avengers: Doomsday
Michael Douglas as Hank Pym in the MCU
Hank Pym actor Michael Douglas says he's done with the MCU: "I'm enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life"
Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director reveals he "really wanted" Man-Thing on the team, but another Marvel project got there first: "It all worked out for the best"
Latest in Action Movies
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four are in Avengers: Doomsday, and I think I know what that means for First Steps
Ben Grimm/The Thing in the first teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps
Pedro Pascal may have let a Fantastic Four-related Avengers: Doomsday spoiler slip – but it doesn't involve Reed Richards
Paul Rudd in Ant-Man
10 years later, Marvel fans are looking back at one of the most underrated MCU entries: Ant-Man
Superman
"We don't want people being bored": James Gunn says there isn't a DCU "company style" and not every movie will be like Superman
Guy Gardner Green Lantern in Superman
Several major DC characters just got new logos, and it might mean big announcements are coming for James Gunn's DCU
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four director tried to replicate a "Spider-Man quality" with Reed Richards' stretching to make it more "dynamic" onscreen: "It's easier to do in comic books"
Latest in Features
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four are in Avengers: Doomsday, and I think I know what that means for First Steps
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
I took 140 hours to finish Assassin's Creed Shadows, but post-launch updates are making it harder than ever to feel satisfied by RPGs
Ghost of Yotei gameplay showing Atsu sitting on her horse between bright pink cherry blossoms, looking at a distant fortification built against a mountain
I asked Ghost of Yotei's creative directors all of my burning questions, and I don't want to get your hopes up but Sucker Punch's sequel sounds like feudal Red Dead Redemption 2
Steam Deck review
I'm too broke to buy Donkey Kong Bananza, so if you're sharing my FOMO here are the best Steam Deck games I'm playing instead
Skate reboot screenshots
I played 4 hours of the new Skate and caught up with developer Full Circle, who believes "this is the best Skate has ever felt or played"
Cyberpunk 2077 screenshot of female V who has blue hair and wears pink trousers and black jacket and sits on the back of a motorcycle before neon skyscrapers
I've put over 900 hours into CD Projekt Red's RPG, and these are the best Cyberpunk 2077 gigs I always love replaying
  1. DK and Pauline look surprised in Donkey Kong Bananza
    1
    Donkey Kong Bananza Review: "Destruction isn't just a flashy gimmick for the Minecraft generation, it's one of the best inventions Nintendo has had in years"
  2. 2
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  3. 3
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  4. 4
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  5. 5
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...