As the world gears up for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the film’s star Evangeline Lilly is already on her way to making plans for the future. Known for portraying Hope van Dyne aka Wasp in the Ant-Man saga, the actress made her timely debut in the 2015 Ant-Man film. Launching amid an unprecedented and successful reception, the character soon went on to make a comeback in the Infinity Saga’s conclusion and is now poised to take centerstage by facing off, for the first time in live-action and Marvel Cinematic Universe, against Kang the Conqueror, and thus kicking off Phase Five of the MCU roster.
Evangeline Lilly Makes a Pitch For a Standalone Wasp Film
Marvel has been the breeding ground of talent and opportunity. From an expansive and bottomless well of literature, the Marvel comics industry has allowed its live-action counterpart to narrate countless colorfully inclusive and evolving stories on the big screen. Among them is the tale of one Hope van Dyne, the brilliant scientist and skilled fighter who finds herself up against a multiversal threat and the possibility of losing those that she loves.
While waiting for Phase Five to kick off, Evangeline Lilly has taken the time to consider the possibilities of what she could do more with her character in the MCU. In an interview with Variety, the actress claims,
“Well, I’m going to make a pitch that, I think it might be time for a Hope [van Dyne] spin-off. For a Wasp standalone film. Do we agree? Anybody? Going once? Going twice?”
Although not much of Wasp’s story can be told without her counterpart, Ant-Man, there is the potential of exploring a prequel storyline that can bring the pre-Scott Lang era to the forefront. The standalone Wasp film could also seek out the untold, under-explored, and ill-navigated story of the Blip and how the Lang family and the van Dynes had united in a time of crisis and tragedy to protect, evolve, and grow alongside each other.
Evangeline Lilly Talks About Being a Marvel Senior
With Quantumania now on the cusp of its scheduled launch, there is nothing more Lilly can do other than wait for the pin to drop. The clamoring and rioting that is about to begin as soon as Phase Five launches will be unlike anything else. The expectations are already high for the minuscule Avengers team and as the fandom’s simmering anticipation grows to a peak, Lilly realizes her time within the Marvel family and its corresponding universe has finally come to fruition.
“I had this moment when we’re at CCXP, the Brazil Comic-Con, where we came out on stage and something just clicked where I realized ‘I’ve become an Avengers senior.’ Like I’ve gone from being a junior to being a senior.
And that was kind of neat, because when we first came into the universe it was so established with Black Widow, Iron Man, Captain America, and all the original gangsters. And we were just like these new kids on the block who were trying to earn out stripes. And now all of a sudden we’re in the center at the launching point of Phase 5, and it feels really cool.”
With no assurance of whether Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man will make it out of the fight alive, the timing of Evangeline Lilly’s pitch grows suspicious under the fandom’s watchful eye. If Rudd’s tenure at the franchise has come to an end, it would make sense why Lilly would present a pitch to ensure her survival and prolongation of her arc in the MCU.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives in theatres on February 17, 2023.
Source: Variety
