Actor Paul Rudd poses at the UK Premiere of the film Anchorman 2 in Leicester Square, London CREDIT: REUTERS

Marvel has officially announced Paul Rudd's casting as miniature superhero Ant-Man.

Kevin Feige, Marvel's studio head, said in a statement that casting the Anchorman 2 star was a "huge sense of relief" and the studio "knew early on that we had found the right person in Paul."

"When he not only agreed to do it but became as enthusiastic as any actor we'd ever met with about doing the work, we knew we'd found the right guy," Feige added in the statement.

"We couldn't be more excited for our audiences to see what he's going to do to bring Ant-Man to life," he noted.

Rudd will play the role of Henry 'Hank' Pym, a scientist who develops a substance that allows him to go smaller and communicate with insects to fight crime.

Aside from Joe Cornish writing the film's script and British Director Edgar Wright going onboard to direct the same, no other detail has been disclosed on the upcoming Ant-Man movie, which is set to release July 31, 2015.

Various sources predicted that either Rudd or Joseph Gordon-Levitt will grab the lead role as Ant-Man, but the former became the frontrunner after a source told Variety that Rudd was in talks with Marvel regarding his new role.

Variety also noted Rudd is "an interesting choice as a super-hero, since he is known more for his comedic roles than action-heavy roles," recounting how Robert Downey, Jr. was cast as Iron Man because he shared elements with Tony Stark's personality.

Entertainment Weekly thought Rudd is "a better man for the job' because of his just-right mix of boyish good looks and everydude charisma." However, he has to accomplish two things to make Ant-Man a success. First, he needs to own up the essential hilarity of Ant-Man. Second, he must convince the audience that Ant-Man is "totally awesome," considering that he still has normal-size strength despite his small size.

Ant-Man joins the roster of films that Marvel will release in the next two years. These include "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," which is set for release April 4 next year and "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which will be out in theaters May 1, 2015.