Edgar Wright Talks 'Ant-Man': "People Will Be Surprised"

Ant-Man isn't as big a name as some of the other superheroes who've made it to the screen lately, perhaps because even as superpowers go, his ability (he can shrink in size without losing his strength) is kind of odd. Nevertheless, Edgar Wright is confident that he can make the character shine in his new movie.

In a recent interview, the director asserted that "people will be surprised" by Ant-Man, even as he acknowledges that those who are unfamiliar with the character may not "get" him right off the bat. Hit the jump to read his comments.

I want to make him into a badass [laughs]. No, I always liked that comic and I always thought it would be an interesting thing to see in live-action. That's why I [showed] that Comic-Con test that we did for Marvel, to show this fight scene like a proof of content, like this is what the action is going to look like. I think a lot of people who maybe don't know the character sort of see that test and go, "Oh, right, I get it. It's like an action film," so that's the idea. I think people will be surprised by what kind of movie it is, and so in that respect it's something that I know is going to stand out because it's got a very different story and is a very different movie.

Given Wright's past work, it seems reasonable to guess that one of the film's surprises will be a strong funny streak. Indeed, the test footage shown at Comic-Con last year had us wondering if the film could be Marvel's first comedy. However, Wright told ET that Ant-Man would be tonally similar to other MCU titles — which he finds pretty funny to begin with.

Well, I think the Marvel movies are funny, you know? I think generally the Iron Man films and The Avengers are funny. They're not ever in the comedy section, but they are funny and entertaining, so I think it'll be something in a similar vein to that.

While Marvel's cinematic efforts have had a healthy sense of humor, Wright's films so far have tended to lean more heavily on the "comedy" half of "action-comedy" than most of the studio's titles. He may have to tweak that formula if Ant-Man is to fit into the rest of the Marvel universe. On the other hand, maybe more laughs is just what Marvel wants, between this and the cheeky-looking Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ant-Man opens July 31, 2015.