So Adam McKay is not directing Ant-Man. The Anchorman and Step Brothers director was said to be in ‘advanced’ talks with Marvel over the weekend, but by Monday he had taken himself out of the running, tweeting that he had “other projects”, he was committed to and he was “not sure it can work.”  Sadly, we might have to echo McKay's words, since the departure of Wright we're not sure Ant-Man can work now either. Really, without Wright, is Ant-Man destined to be a doomed project?

Edgar WrightHas Edgar Wright left an unfillable void in Ant-Man?

The Ant-Man movie was undoubtedly Edgar Wright’s baby. The ‘Cornetto trilogy’ director first became attached to the project officially in 2006 but he had actually been developing the story since 2003. His departure from the film last week initially came as a shock, but in hindsight, it might have been an unfortunate inevitability.

Ant-Man was always going to be a difficult story to make work within the Marvel cinematic universe, but with Wright’s quirkiness and passion for the project, the movie stood a good chance of becoming something special. However the director and his vision were up against the Marvel machine, who of course had their own take on the story and ultimately it became a battle Wright couldn't win. Eventually the 'amicable decision' came and Wright's Ant-Man dream finally came to an end.

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After Wright’s departure, the three names which were said to be on Marvel’s new shortlist were Adam McKay, Rawson Thurber and Ruben Fleischer. McKay was the early frontrunner, until he took himself out of the race. The Anchorman director seemed like he could be perfect for the film, thanks to his comedy track record and the fact he’s worked with lead actor Paul Rudd before. But wether it was due to prior commitments or other issues, McKay's name left the Ant-Man race almost as quickly as it entered.

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So what of the other two? The Wrap has named Thurber as the new frontrunner, which is unsurprising considering the director is just coming off the surprise success of We Are The Millers. It is thought that the up and comer might be more willing to tow the line with Marvel, since the movie would be his first big budget outing.

Adam McKayAnchorman's Adam McKay has taken himself out of the running

Then there’s Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer, whose last movie Gangster Squad divided critics. However, since he has experience working with special effects, he might just hold an advantage over Thurber.  But there's a problem, he's now found himself linked to another troubled project, Ghostbusters 3.

Despite Wright’s departure, Ant-Man is still scheduled for release in 2015, but that now seems a bit overly optimistic. Is Ant-Man really doomed? Maybe, any director who takes the movie on might have the backing of Marvel, but they’ll have a harder time winning over the fans who were eagerly awaiting Wright’s movie. Sadly for Marvel, Ant-Man just might have turned into a bigger bug for the studio than they could have ever imagined, so how long will it be until they decide to squish it for good?