For the successful reputation that Marvel Studios was known for, particularly during its first three phases, it can be easy to forget that the road from "Iron Man" to "Avengers: Endgame" was not always smooth. Sure, fans often like to discuss the trajectory of the entire Infinity Saga as if it were all masterfully executed, but we sometimes forget about the bumps along the way. Some of those bumps include Phase 1 actors like Terrence Howard and Edward Norton dropping from their roles, filmmakers-for-hire dropping from projects due to the dreaded "creative differences" with Kevin Feige, or, at least in one case, a film being pulled from the slate altogether (looking at you, "Inhumans").
During its golden age, Marvel Studios developed a reputation as a studio whose cinematic output was, at the very least, competent. Sure, some of that leads to formulaic plots, but the dynamic characters portrayed by talented actors helped make these films feel fresh to audiences who most often never opened a comic book in their lives. One of the films that succeeded amidst production issues was the first "Ant-Man" film. Director Peyton Reed and the film's cast, led by Paul Rudd, crafted an entertaining origin story that evoked the Marvel Cinematic Universe's trademark heart and humor. Although the film turned out decent, it is hard not to explore the "What If...?" scenario where original director Edgar Wright was allowed to seek his vision, which would have also included Patrick Wilson in the cast.