It’s been quiet since October, when rumors surfaced that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd were the frontrunners to play “Ant-Man” for Marvel and director Edgar Wright. Gordon-Levitt quickly denied the rumors as empty scuttlebutt, and now, on the promotional tour for “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” Rudd has confirmed that the rumor was about as legitimate as Brian Fantana’s account of first love.
Speaking to AbsoluteRadio (via FlickeringMyth), Rudd says, “Oh, that’s all rumor, man. There’s nothing I know, sorry.” Classic non-denial denial, Rudd! Not like it’s a surprise, as there are three possibilities. Maybe Rudd is in the running for the role, but discussing such a thing is a poor negotiation tactic. Maybe Rudd doesn’t know anything, and he and Gordon-Levitt are being eyed in the role by executives who have been considering every leading man in Hollywood. Or, of course, maybe it’s b.s. Then again, if you’ve got a script from Wright and Joe Cornish, you hope someone as funny and talented as Rudd is assuming the mantle of Hank Pym, Marvel’s biggest tiny superhero.
In other superhero news, USA Today profiled Don Cheadle in the wake of his Golden Globe nomination for “House Of Lies” and casually mentioned one of his bigger upcoming gigs. Sandwiched in between the latest season of “House Of Lies” and his upcoming Miles Davis biopic is “a part to film in the next ‘Avengers’ movie” quoth the newspaper This hasn’t yet been shared by Cheadle or Marvel, but it makes perfect sense (Update: HitFix confirms in case you had doubts). Cheadle’s James Rhodes from the “Iron Man” movies has frequently suited up for the Avengers in the comics, as well as the offshoot Avengers West Coast, as War Machine. With Tony Stark calling it quits at the end of “Iron Man 3” it wouldn’t be a surprise to see SHIELD recruit the other dude in the robot suit flying around and saving the day.
“The Avengers: Age Of Ultron” is scheduled for release May 1st, 2015. “Ant-Man” follows soon after on July 31st.
