AceShowbiz -

Joss Whedon has cryptically responded to the sudden departure of Edgar Wright from Marvel's long-gestating project "Ant-Man". "The Avengers" director posted on Twitter a picture of himself holding up a Cornetto ice cream with his head bowed.

While there was no caption in the photo, the Cornetto cone was believed to refer to Wright's movie series, "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), "Hot Fuzz" (2007), and "The World's End" (2013). Dubbed "The Cornetto Trilogy", it stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Wright left "Ant-Man" due to creative differences after being attached to the project since 2006. A few weeks ago, Marvel allegedly enlisted the studio's in-house writing team to re-write the screenplay that Wright had long penned with Joe Cornish, and the result was not up to the director's standard.

The movie is planned to make its way out in the United States on July 17, 2015. Michael Douglas is tapped play Dr. Hank Pym, the inventor of original Ant-Man equipment, while Paul Rudd is expected to portray Scott Lang, the newer generation of Ant-Man. Patrick Wilson and Matt Gerald are among the cast as well.

Before Wright's departure was announced, Wilson tweeted there was "big news" coming. He then followed it up with, "Yes yes...the big news was Edgar's departure and now not knowing the fate of the film. Big to ME anyway."

"The decision to move on is amicable," the studio said of Wright's exit, "and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly." Cornish was rumored being eyed to replace Wright, but a contradicting report said no offer was being made.