Edgar Wright, who spent many years collaborating with Marvel to create Ant-Man, is an extremely multi-talented filmmaker. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has seen his direction of Ant-Man, a truly unique artistic journey.
In case you did not know, before the MCU even began, he had already written the script and story for Ant-Man. But in 2014, Peyton Reed took over the project, and Wright had to leave over creative differences. However, on the plus side, the MCU’s loss was our gain.
After overcoming that setback, the director, 49, went on to produce popular original films like the heart-pounding Baby Driver in 2017 and, Last Night in Soho in 2021. Wright has established himself as a skilled writer who can handle a variety of tones, genres, and moods with relative ease.
Not to mention the fact that he already has a connection to Doctor Who because he collaborated with Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, on Last Night in Soho.
Thus, this long-running beloved series would have turned out in Wright’s capable hands if he had accepted the offer to direct an episode of Doctor Who.
Why Did The Original Ant-Man Director Not Helm Doctor Who?
Can you picture a world without Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright? Even the thought of it is enough to make one cringe, but what if the alternative meant that he would have been the director of a Doctor Who episode?
The acclaimed filmmaker, who co-wrote the screenplay for Ant-Man (2015), himself acknowledged that he was given the opportunity to helm the 2005 Doctor Who revival’s episode, Rose:
“I’m going to break your heart here, but I was offered the episode ‘Rose’ by Russell T. Davies (the first of the new ‘Doctor Who’ episodes) and I could not do it because I was busy with ‘Shaun of the Dead’. And my mother has never forgiven me.”
Wright discussed how Doctor Who ended up having an influence on his science fiction comedy film, The World’s End in an interview with SlashFilm:
“I was such a big ‘Doctor Who’ fan growing up, and I think in a weird way, to the point where I would read the novelizations… But strangely, they then sort of had an influence on things like ‘The World’s End’.”
Why Will Edgar Wright Not Make Shaun of the Dead 2?
Fans are still looking for Shaun of the Dead 2 news almost 20 years after the original film’s release. Shaun of the Dead launched the careers of many people, most notably its stars, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost along with its director, Edgar Wright. The film was a critical and financial success.
Speaking to SFX Magazine two years ago (via Games Radar), Wright outlined his reasons for not wanting to rewatch the film that helped launch his successful filmmaking career:
“I haven’t gone back to horror-comedy, because with Shaun Of The Dead I felt like I had said much of what I wanted to say with that movie. It’s difficult to return to that, even as a producer. Sometimes I get sent films – people want to make the next Shaun and want me to come aboard as a producer. But I find it difficult to cover the same territory again.”
The most recent Shaun of the Dead 2 information further shattered hopes for a possible sequel. Pegg addressed the possibility of a Shaun of the Dead sequel and provided a very direct response, saying:
“People are always like, ‘I need Shaun of the Dead 2 in my life.’ And I’m like, ‘No, you don’t f–king need Shaun of the Dead 2! The last thing you need is Shaun of the Dead 2! It’s done. Move on!’”
Well, Shaun of the Dead received critical acclaim and commercial success, earning $30 million worldwide on a $6.1 million budget and earning two nominations for the British Academy Film Awards.
You can stream Shaun of the Dead on Amazon Prime Video while Doctor Who (2005) is available on Max.
Source- Reddit
