Michael Douglas Cast in Ant-Man as Hank Pym ...But Wasn't Paul Rudd Already Cast as Ant-Man?

Michael Douglas is joining the cast of Marvel's ANT-MAN for the role of Hank Pym. I'm sure some of you are confused thinking Paul Rudd has already been cast to play the title character Ant-Man. You see, in the comics, Hank Pym is the character who originally takes the superhero persona of Ant-Man, when he invented a suit (and equipment) that could give him the ability to change his size. A decade later, Marvel created a character named Scott Lang, he was a thief who stole Henry Pym's Ant-Man suit to save his daughter Cassie from a heart condition. Reforming from his life of crime, he soon took on a full-time career as the second Ant-Man with the encouragement of Hank Pym. Paul Rudd will play the role of Scott Lang. But will the movie have its spotlight only on the second Ant-Man as its main hero? Or is it possible to have the two versions in that one movie? [hit to jump to continue]

Marvel's ANT-MAN is set to take a bold move in comic-to-film adaptation. In the comics, Hank Pym is the first and original Ant-Man. The problem is that over the years, Hank Pym is one of those characters that have a very unattractive moral image. He's a character who's just got lots of unpleasant moments. He's known to be, at times, irrationally hostile, and had repeatedly physically maltreated is own wife Janet Van Dyne (also known as the super heroine The Wasp). In the 1980s there was a particular story arc in the Avengers comics that highlight the soap-opera-style moral breakdown of Hank Pym, and has repeatedly been under the stress of a moral breakdown ever since. So, with this in mind, the reason why Hank Pym isn't the main character in the upcoming movie is quite obvious.

Although he isn't the spotlighted title character, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige emphasizes Hank Pym's importance to the film's story. In an interview, he had this to say:

“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,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “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.”

But just because Hank Pym is not the spotlight character, doesnt necessarily mean that we wont be seeing the Hank Pym Ant-Man in the movie. Collider took notice of an interview bit on the film's director Edgar Wright from 2006 where he drops a clue of how this superhero movie could play out:

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both. Is to have a film that basically is about Henry Pym and Scott Lang, so you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60′s, in sort of “Tales to Astonish” mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

Marvel's Ant-Man is shceduled for release on July 31, 2015.