First Look at a Brooding Paul Rudd in Marvel's 'Ant-Man'

Let's be honest here: Marvel's Ant-Man has been a disaster up to this point. Eight years in production, which only culminated in the departure of Edgar Wright over creative differences, and the loss of a great deal of fan support. On top of that, the "teaser" footage shown at Comic-Con by new director Peyton Reed didn't make a lot of noise. But with filming officially beginning yesterday the slate has been wiped clean, and today brings the first image of Paul Rudd as Ant-Man.

The photo comes courtesy of USA Today and it's probably not what you were expecting. Showing a grittier Rudd than we've ever seen before, he takes on the role of Scott Lang, an ex-con who takes on the superhero mantle from his mentor, Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas. Pym has developed a formula for "Pym Particles", which allow the user to shrink or grow in size. Corey Stoll (The Strain) plays Darren Cross aka Yellowjack, one of Pym's star employees who wants the technology for himself.

Here's what Rudd had to say about taking on his first superhero role...

 "The way technology has advanced just in the last few years, picturing this world, what they can do with this kind of story line and character, I thought this could be something that could be very strange and hasn't been seen before. I was really excited about being a part of something like that."

Starring Evangeline Lily, Judy Greer, Michael Pena, Tip "T.I." Harris, John Slattery, Bobby Cannavale, and more, Ant-Man opens July 17th 2015.