Michael Douglas joins Edgar Wright's 'Ant-Man' movie as Hank Pym, but what about Paul Rudd?

Marvel recently announced that Paul Rudd would star in Edgar Wright's 2015 film Ant-Man, but the question remained as to whether he would play Hank Pym or Scott Lang, both of whom put on the Ant-Man suit at different points in the comics. Well, Marvel's latest bit of official casting news seems to have cleared up that situation.

The studio confirmed Monday that multiple Academy Award-winner Michael Douglas has joined Ant-Man as Hank Pym and also confirmed that Rudd will portray Scott Lang. Here's what Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige said about the casting:

"With Hank Pym's rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves. We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn't be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life."

For those unfamiliar with the character, Pym is the genius scientist who created the Ant-Man suit that allows the wearer to grow or shrink to extreme proportions and even control ants. Douglas would likely be playing an older version of the character, perhaps even one who has retired and no longer uses the suit.

Now, for the fun part. What does this mean for the plot of the film? Let's look at the evidence. Feige and Wright have described Ant-Man as a "heist" film numerous times and, in the comics, Lang steals the Ant-Man suit from Pym in order to use it for another heist to save his daughter's life. Pym eventually realizes that Lang isn't such a bad guy after all and gives him the suit to use, and Lang joins The Avengers as Ant-Man. If the movie follows a similar path, then Rudd could join The Avengers 3 several years down the road.

What do you think, fans? How do you envision the movie playing out in light of this recent news? Let us know in the comments below.