When word got out that Edgar Wright was stepping away from Marvel’s Ant-Man after years with the project, everyone’s eyes were on the blockbuster, and discussion centered almost exclusively on who would be replacing Wright. Back at the beginning of June, we got the answer to that question when Peyton Reed boarded the project, and today brings news related to the other side of that story – namely, which project Wright will be taking on now that Ant-Man is out of his hands. We’ve learned via Deadline that the helmer is eyeing Baby Driver, which he wrote for Working Title Films, as his next directorial venture.
The project was described to Deadline’s writer Mike Fleming Jr. as “a collision of crime, action, music and sound,” which sounds very much in line with both Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End) that Wright previously did at Working Title. Sadly, at this stage it does not appear that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Wright’s stars throughout the aforementioned trilogy, are involved with Baby Driver.
The movie hasn’t been housed by a studio yet, but Working Title has a deal with Universal, so that seems like a likely option. Focus Features released The World’s End, though, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if that studio ended up landing Baby Driver. No further plot details have been revealed, and casting news is probably a little while off, but it’s still exciting to see that all the unfortunate hubbub surrounding Ant-Man hasn’t discouraged Wright from jumping headfirst into some other directing gigs.
We’ll be keeping our ears to the ground for further information about Baby Driver besides the intriguing title and that initial description, but anything Wright attaches himself to is definitely on our must-watch list. It was deeply disheartening to hear that his work with Marvel on Ant-Man had fallen through, but maybe at least with a project more in line with the director’s Britcom roots, Wright likely won’t be creatively blocked, as it appears he was at Marvel.