Back in December, it was reported that Paul Rudd was cast as "Ant-Man" but it was unclear which one he'd be. It was speculated that he would be playing Scott Lang, the Ant-Man that stole Hank Pym's suit.

If Rudd's playing Lang, who will play Hank? It's just been announced that Michael Douglas will play Hank Pym.

"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."

It's been said before that Hank Pym saw some action as the original Ant-Man in the 60s, as in TALES TO ASTONISH. Scott Lang must come along to steal the suit or something. The movie opens July 31, 2015.

Source: Marvel

picture?

@allstarsuperman: you don't know what Michael Douglas looks like?

Doesn't he seem too old for the part tho?

@jonny_anonymous: just posted a picture like a second before yours

This is horrible casting.

I knew they wouldn't use Hank Pym but still it's really disappointing that he won't be used. :'(

Just read this, I was quite surprised but I can see now what kind of direction they are going to take with it. Can't say I'm overly taken with it but its all part of a different universe I guess.

I like him, I think he is a really good actor but he is too old for Pym no?

Ok so Paul Rudd is gonna be Scott Lang..... gonna steal hank pyms suit, save his daughter

mid credit scene: hank pym works on some experiment, then stark comes in and asks if he can fix ultron

Just saved $20 for you guys

Maybe they're making Hank Pym a side character?

Clearly Hank Pym is a wash and Scott Lang will be the Ant Man the movie goers will know and love.

This isnt true people!

Come on Marvel...

It's about the expuriance, not the happenins dat go on durin' the picture, boy.

This is just horrible

I wonder if they'll end up having all of Hank's identities in the comics such as Giant Man, Yellowjacket, Goliath, etc, spread out among the different Ant-Men in the movies? Like maybe Eric O'Grady ends up as Giant Man or Yellowjacket?

interesting.

Hoping this doesn't ruin the chances of Wasp ever being in a film.

I bet pym will develop it and Lang will use it Hank won't be Ant-Man

my guess. hank pym is a scientist who creates/discovers pym particles, scott lang is the actual antman in the mcu

My thought's exactly!

Hope the movie will be great. And successful at Box Office.

well i can see it as a failed scientist who just ends up having a crummy life and his apprentice or a fan of his gets the research and suit and uses his idol /mentor's failure as a great achievement for mankind

Ha.Ha.Ha.

this is gonna be great. Michael Douglas is one of the all time great actors.

No bet. The article already explained that Rudd is Ant-Man and not Hank (Douglas).

well, obviously Hank Pym will be the scientist that discovered the pymparticles and created the ant-man gear. Scott will steal the suit. I do hope that Hank Pym will have some action scenes in flashback or something because Pym is my favourite character.

They could introduce her as Scott Lang's partner rather than Pym's.

Gonna be weird seeing Hank Pym as a mentor and old in the movie.

I like the idea and can see a lot of potential in this.

This is terrible for Hank fans. This pretty much washes any hope of seeing him as a hero in one of his other identities.

Hank Pym is my favorite superhero...and I honestly don't know what to think

I'm curious as to how this will affect Hank Pym in the comics. Marvel has a habit of altering the comics to resemble their movies more and more, so you can't help but wonder if they'll alter Pym in the comics to fit with his appearance in the movie.

They could always show Pym as the first Ant-Man in flashbacks; maybe having a younger actor portray Pym's early days or something.

So sad. I'm a Hank & Jan fan. Looks like they're getting shafted and washed out of the movie continuity.

Here's hoping they don't retcon them out of being founding Avengers and Pym out of creating Ultron in the comics.

This

and this

Hank's the original though.

I'm not watching this, everything I see about this makes me not want too see it.

So Hank will never be Ant-man in the MCU? What...?

I'm very not okay with this. First Hank Pym gets the creation of the Avengers taken from him. Then the creation of the Avengers taken away from him. Now he doesn't even get to be Ant-Man. I really don't like that such an important character is being thrown under the bus.

Imagine there had never been a Batman movie before. Now imagine they make a Justice League movie without him. And then they announce an eventual, first, and possibly only Batman movie. Now imagine your disappointment when you find out that Bruce Wayne is just an old man that will give his suit/gear away to Dick Grayson. It's pretty much exactly like that, IMO.

Not to mention, they pretty much ruined their chances of putting The Wasp on screen (unless this movie is largely flashback, which I suppose it could be), and the superhero world desperately needs more women on screen.

That said, I'm still excited to see Paul Rudd play a superhero. He'll eventually be awesome alongside the Avengers cast.

At this time all it says is Rudd will be Ant-Man for the movie. We don't know if Hank ever tried to wear the suit in the past.

This is a bit disturbing to say the least. The man is ancient. Could have gotten someone at least 20 years younger. Good golly. He's a great actor but this is not good casting AT ALL!

@blackarmor: agreed, excited about it

@theamazingimmortalman: no. In the mcu Hank apparently either never wore the suit or wore it back in the 60s while Scott is the modern ant-man

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Presumably if he's considerably older, he's likely to appear in the present in one of his other identities, and this would also lower the chances of Wasp getting decent screen time. Plus it makes it even less likely that they could be Avengers. :(

I'm curious as to how this will affect Hank Pym in the comics. Marvel has a habit of altering the comics to resemble their movies more and more, so you can't help but wonder if they'll alter Pym in the comics to fit with his appearance in the movie.

That worries me. Already he's back to not having a hero identity in Avengers AI. It makes me wonder if that was done intentionally.

They could always show Pym as the first Ant-Man in flashbacks; maybe having a younger actor portray Pym's early days or something.

Doubtful. I think the suit will be something that he recently developed and mostly Lang focused. If they did go that way with flashbacks it's hard to think it would go any further that just the first movie. They'll want to move away from the past to tie Ant-Man into the greater universe.

Oh, so we ARE still going with that plot? Why Hollywood seems convinced that Pym isn't good enough for a movie on his own as THE Ant-Man is beyond me.