In some rather surprising news, Marvel Studios have officially announced that Michael Douglas will be playing Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man. Didn’t Paul Rudd nab that role a few weeks ago, we hear you ask? The anally-attentive to detail amongst you will have noticed that the official press release announcing Rudd as joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe only made reference to him playing Ant-Man. Yep, it seems as if Marvel and Disney chose their words carefully for a reason.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed the news, saying, “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. 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.”

There was also confirmation, if any was needed, that Paul Rudd is indeed playing the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man.

If you remember back a few years, Edgar Wright himself confirmed that his initial plan for ANT-MAN was to involve both the Hank Pym and Scott Lang versions of the size-changing superhero. In fact, in an interview with SuperheroHype at that time, Wright said, “The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both Henry Pym and Scott Lang. So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the ’60s 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.”

One would have to presume that at least some of Wright’s initial idea will be put to use in the upcoming ANT-MAN. There was also previously word from Feige that the movie may play out as a “heist movie”, with Scott Lang stealing the Ant-Man outfit before finally getting Hank Pym’s blessing to take on the mantle.

Set to kick off Marvel’s Phase Three of films, ANT-MAN is currently scheduled for a 31st July, 2015 release.

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