Paul Rudd is Marvel's Ant-Man

For several months now, there has been much speculation on who will be the lead to play the lead character in Marvel’s “Ant-Man”... now it's official: Paul Rudd will be the one to don the costume of the Avenger superhero; The Ant-Man. Months ago the candidates who were lined up for consideration were Simon Pegg, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Paul Rudd himself. Even back then, we though Rudd was the best choice (Pegg was too comedy, while JGL was too ...pop). Anyway, JGL now has the (DC Vertigo) Sandman role and Pegg is still a funny comedian, so, everybody happy. Paul Rudd is perfect for Ant-Man, the Marvel superhero who has the ability to shrink into the size of an ant, and also grow into the size of a giant.

"Ant-Man" will be the first movie to immediately kick-off Marvel's phase three. Phase two ends with “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015 and "Ant-Man" immediately arrives on theaters July 31, 2015. [hit the jump to continue]

The casting of Rudd represents the actor that Marvel had long ago identified as its first choice to play Ant-Man, continuing the studio’s desire to cast actors that bring several dimensions to its onscreen heroes.  The film’s plot is being kept under wraps.

“When Edgar Wright came to us with the idea of Paul Rudd, we felt a huge sense of relief because the first step in creating any Marvel Studios film is finding the right star,” said Marvel’s Kevin Feige. “We knew early on that we had found the right person in Paul. When he not only agreed to do it but became as enthusiastic as any actor we’d ever met with about doing the work, we knew we’d found the right guy. We couldn’t be more excited for our audiences to see what he’s going to do to bring Ant-Man to life.”

Rudd brings a diverse background to the role having become one of the industry’s most known actors with a reputation for smart, funny and creative performances.  Rudd can currently be seen in “Anchor Man 2: The Legend Continues,” as well as past roles in “Anchorman,” “This Is 40,” “I Love You, Man,” “Role Models,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Our Idiot Brother,” “Knocked Up,” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” among numerous other films, television shows and primetime animation.

In addition to “Ant-Man,” Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014; “Guardians of the Galaxy” on August 1, 2014; and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.