We have it on very good authority that reports of Nicholas Stoller’s name “making the rounds” in the discussion over who will ultimately direct Ant-Man are unfounded. It’s understandable that all sorts of names will get thrown around in the presumed chaos that has resulted from Edgar Wright departing the project just a few days ago, but Stoller ain’t the man for Ant-Man. However, someone’s gotta direct this thing, right? It’s not just going to become self-aware and assemble itself into a cohesive film, will it? Hit the jump to sort out who’s in and who’s out.

In a separate story concerning the search for directors, Deadline recently reported that Stoller was one of the names floating around the Ant-Man director’s chair. We have word that this is not true. Their report also stated that Michael Dowse (Goon) was another name being bandied about, but on that front we have no further information.

What we do know is that after Wright left, Adam McKay was offered the job, but quickly turned it down due to his commitment to his own projects he’s working on. This left directors Rawson Marshall Thurber and Ruben Fleischer in contention. Fleischer’s chances remain speculative since he’s also being reported as in the mix for the Ghostbusters 3 director’s chair. Marshall Thurber, on the other hand, is a bit more confusing. Early reports suggest he was offered the role, then turned it down, while follow-up news states he never received an offer in the first place. Most recently, it sounds like he’s still the frontrunner for the helm, after being jostled around for the lead in this bizarre race to the bottom. One wonders if Marvel wouldn’t have been better served by patching things up with Wright from the get-go and saving themselves all of this hassle.