Kevin Feige Defends Marvel Against Ant-Man Scrutiny Following Wright Exit

In a new interview with The Guardian, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige defended the studio in their split with Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, saying that ultimately it really was just creative differences that split up the Ant-Man dream team.

He also expressed that he thinks the movie is in as good a shape as it's ever been with director Peyton Reed at the helm.

"Peyton is going to do a tremendous job and the cast is tremendously dedicated and the script is getting into amazing shape," Feige said. "You wouldn't expect a producer to say anything different, but when that movie comes out it will be the absolute best version of Ant-Man that could have existed."

He continued: "The biggest disappointment for me is just the relationship, because I like Edgar very, very much and we were very close for many many years. But the perception that the big evil studio was too scared at the outside-the-box creative vision is just not the case."

That was a point he tried to drive home again and again, specifically indicating James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy.

"The Marvel movies are very collaborative, and I think they are more collaborative than what he had been used to. And I totally respect that," Feige said. "[But] the notion that Marvel was scared, the vision was too good, too far out for Marvel is not true. And I don't want to talk too much about that because I think our movies speak to that. Go look at Iron Man 3; go look at The Winter Soldier; go see Guardians of the Galaxy later this month. It would have to be really out there to be too out there for us."

Ant-Man is due in theaters next July.