Move Over Paul Rudd, Because Michael Douglas Is Also ‘Ant-Man’

It was just about a month ago that Marvel announced Paul Rudd had been cast as Ant-Man to kick off Phase 3 of the ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe. You'd be forgiven, therefore, if you found today's news—that Michael Douglas has been cast as Ant-Man—a little confusing. However, it's all true. Paul Rudd is Ant-man, and Michael Douglass is Ant-Man.

You see, in the original Marvel comics, there were several men who became Ant-Man. Douglas will be playing Hank Pym, the brilliant scientist who invented or discovered the technology to shrink living matter. Rudd, meanwhile, will be playing Scott Lang, who became Ant-Man after stealing the technology from Pym.

Of course, it remains to be seen how this will all play out. In the original comics, Pym and Lang were both good guys, and Lang only stole the technology s=to help his sick daughter...or something like that. Will Michael Douglas's Pym still be a good guy? Given his age, it would hardly be surprising if his version of Pym meets some sort of downfall, whether as a villain or a hero, while one would have to assume they'll keep Rudd on for Avengers 3 and beyond.

The main take-away here is the Marvel is loading the Edgar Wright-written Ant-Man—which nobody knows or cares anything about—with superstar talent so as to make sure it doesn't suck. And that's probably a pretty sound strategy.

Ant-Man hits theaters...I don't know, some time in the future.