Later this year, we’ll see all kind of alt-universe shenanigans in the MCU with the arrival of the animated What If…? series – but in the real world, there have been plenty of ‘what if’ moments along the way in Marvel Studios’ history, most notably: what if Edgar Wright had directed Ant-Man? Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be, and director Peyton Reed shepherded the size-shifting superhero to our screens in the end – but for years, it was intended as an Edgar Wright joint. Since vacating the project, Wright has stayed away from the Marvel-verse – but working on his epic, star-studded cover feature for Empire’s Greatest Cinema Moment Ever issue, on sale now, meant him getting back in contact with MCU head-honcho Kevin Feige.
“I’ll be honest, I had not spoken to Kevin since I walked off Ant-Man in 2014,” Wright explained on the latest episode of the Empire Podcast, where he discussed the work that went on behind his article. “You know, there wasn’t any real animosity or outright hostility between us, it was all very diplomatic at the time, but in that situation you go your separate ways and there was no reason to get back in touch. So I just had never spoken to him or vice versa. Aside from the movie itself, we had been friends, so it was a sad thing – aside from the professional aspect of it, we had been good pals.”
But when Wright called out for Empire readers to send in their greatest cinema memories, he received an influx of mentions of Captain America wielding Mjolnir in Endgame, Hulk throwing Loki about like a ragdoll in Avengers Assemble, and highlights from Black Panther – and it soon became clear that he had a reason to reach out across the divide and contact Feige for the first time in over half a decade.
“I thought it would be disingenuous of me to get through this article without mentioning the ‘M’ word once,” says Wright. “So I did what I hadn’t done in six years – I just emailed Kevin. It was a really nice thing, and Kevin was really touched that I’d reached out to him directly and just said, ‘Hey’. Also it was funny after six years of no contact to email him just saying, ‘Kevin, I need you to write something for me, and I need it tomorrow!’ So it was nice, we basically reconnected over this article and it was very sweet. I’m very glad I did it, and I was very happy that his response was so- he was really touched that I had reached out, and I feel what he wrote was great. I told him that I read what he’d said about Aliens to James Cameron, which he said was just wild. So it was nice, it’s a nice happy ending to that story.”
Inside the issue, you’ll find Feige recalling his fond memories of seeing Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Back To The Future, Aliens, Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones and more on the big screen – as well as talking about that Mjolnir moment from Endgame alongside Chris Evans and Joe Russo. Find the magazine on newsstands now, or order a copy online with free UK delivery here. Listen to the full interview with Edgar Wright on the latest episode of the Empire Podcast, available on all good pod apps.