AceShowbiz -

Adam McKay is no longer in talks to replace Edgar Wright as a director for "Ant-Man". The helmer of the two "Anchorman" movies confirmed on Twitter that he did enter negotiations with Marvel but he decided to pass on the project.

"Yes, met w/Marvel," tweeted the comedy director who co-founded Funny Or Die with Will Ferrell. He cited scheduling conflicts as the reason of turning down the job. "But have other projects I'm committed to. Not sure it can work."

With McKay out of the contention, it leaves Ruben Fleischer ("Gangster Squad") and Rawson Marshall Thurber ("We're the Millers") in the mix. The Wrap reports Thurber is a frontrunner to helm the comic book adaptation.

Wright was attached to "Ant-Man" since 2006 but abruptly left due to alleged major script re-write. He likened his situation with Marvel with Buster Keaton's fallout with MGM back in 1920s by posting a Twitter picture of the late actor/director holding a Cornetto cone, which he later deleted.

"Ant-Man" is planned to make its way out in the United States on July 17, 2015. Marvel assures that Wright's departure won't affect the release schedule. Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd, Patrick Wilson, Evangeline Lilly, and Matt Gerald are among the cast.