Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Paul Rudd Frontrunners for ANT-MAN

Marvel seems to have set its sights on two contendors to take on the role of Ant-Man.

According to Variety, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd have emerged as the studio's favorites to lead Edgar Wright's upcoming film, following Henry Pym, "a brilliant scientist who invented a substance that allowed him to change his size." Wright penned the script along with Joe Cornish.

Sources have confirmed that the duo will be meeting with Marvel execs and Wright one more time before any deal is offered. The publication also reports that an additional actor may also be approached, though a name was not given.

ANT-MAN is set for a July 31, 2015 release.

Gordon-Levitt is known for his roles in the films Angels in the Outfield, Beethoven, and 10 Things I Hate About You, and as Tommy Solomon in the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun.

He has also starred in (500) Days of Summer, Inception, 50/50, Premium Rush, and Looper, and also appeared in The Dark Knight Rises, The Lookout, Manic, Lincoln, Mysterious Skin, Brick, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2013, he will star in the comedy film Don Jon, which he also wrote and directed. He founded the online production company hitRECord in 2004.

Paul Rudd made his Broadway debut in Tony Award-winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo in 1997 and has since starred in Twelfth Night (1998), Three Days of Rain (2006) and Off Broadway in The Shape of Things (2001), among many other stage productions. Kate Arrington, who is currently appearing at the Goodman Theatre in Iceman Cometh opposite Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy, is aSteppenwolf Theatre ensemble member, whose productions there include The Hot L Baltimore, The Well-Appointed Room, The Pain and the Itch and The Violet Hour. Edward Asner last appeared on Broadway in 1989, opposite Madeline Kahn in Born Yesterday. This production of Grace marks its New York Premiere (in an updated script) and the Broadway debuts of playwright Craig Wright, director Dexter Bullard, and Michael Shannon, who have a fifteen-plus year history of collaboration in the theater on works including, most recently, Mistakes Were Made.

Photo by Walter McBride

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