Pegg Will Not Be Playing Ant Man. So Who Should?

Even before Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were announced, Writer/Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) had been reportedly working away on a draft for a big screen take on Marvel's Ant-Man.

While Ant-Man is undoubtedly a C-list character, there is much that can be done with him visually in a big budget film. Wright claims that the movie will have humor but tonally it would be more in line with the first Iron Man picture. While I did not care for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, I’m positive Wright is the right (unintended pun) guy to helm an Ant-Man pic.

Digital Spy reported today that Wright-collaborator Simon Pegg admittedly will not be playing Ant Man (as has been often rumored). Pegg says that he would be up for a villain role in the film though.

Pegg told the following to View London: “He (Wright) wants some young—he'll want, like Chris Evans to do it or one of his new American buddies.” Clearly, his tongue was slightly in cheek. This brings me to one of fanboys’ favorite pastimes: “Who should play…”.

Who Should Play Ant Man/Hank Pym?
My criteria is going to be an actor who can play a hero and also has to have an intense or dark side; I base this solely on the character from the comics as I am not privy to any script. Here are my four choices:

From left to right: Wilson, Worthington, Damon and Urban.

Patrick Wilson (Watchmen): Wilson has continued to prove that he has strong acting chops, but a breakout role continues to elude him. He’ll be appearing next in Morning Glory with Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton.

Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans): Out of nowhere Worthington became the go-to guy for action pictures, but the films have been a mixed bag. He was a strong lead in Avatar, but unless he becomes more discriminating about his films (Clash of the Titans and Terminator: Salvation) he may go the way of Vin Diesel. Worthington has enough charisma (and darkness) to make a believable Hank Pym.

Matt Damon (Bourne trilogy): Damon would be my first pick for this role, but I wonder if he would play a role like Ant-Man. We know he can do dark (The Talented Mr. Ripley), he can do funny (Dogma), and he can do action (the aforementioned Bourne films).

Karl Urban (Star Trek): Hair color should never be a prerequisite for casting an actor. Urban can portray stoic (as Eomer in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and showed audiences his lighthearted side in the Star Trek reboot. He would be a fine Pym.