“Here Are My Thoughts,” Canceled Marvel Star Praises Being “Most Respected” in ‘Ant-Man 3’

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Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp (left) and Paul Rudd as Ant Man (right)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel features an endless catalog of talented actors and actresses throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some have fallen victim to online backlash and even cancellation. In the wake of recent online attacks, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) actress Evangeline Lilly finally speaks up and clears the air.

evangeline lilly as hope van dyne aka the wasp and paul rudd as scott lang aka ant man
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: ‘Ant-Man’ Star Causes Debate, Backlash After Sharing Controversial Mandatory Vaccine Views

Marvel and The Walt Disney Company champion respecting their talented stars, often supporting their various political alignments.

Nonetheless, some of their superheroes have fallen into the social pit of “cancellation” over various controversial Tweets and other social media posts, most famously The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano. She was later fired from Lucasfilm over political positions.

gina carano mandalorian premiere
Credit: ABC

Related: Marvel Could Recast Canceled Star Evangeline Lilly With New Actress

Flash forward two years, and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Marvel star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit) is the latest social media backlash over various posts regarding the COVID-19 vaccination mandate and Canadian trucker protests that occurred in early 2022.

Evangeline Lilly attends the premiere of Disney And Marvel's 'Ant-Man And The Wasp' on June 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California.
Credit: ABC News

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Now, after facing heated threats and loud cries of replacement by some viewers, Lilly has finally cleared the air with her latest statement on filming Ant-Man: Quantunmania, stating that the experience has made her feel “the most heard, the most respected, and the most collaborative” throughout her entire acting career:

“What’s great is what I can talk about is sort of the theme that we started on, which is my own personal growth. On that film, that was, I think, the first time where I really… probably because of some of the healing that’s happened within me, which is… partly fueled by the MeToo movement and the Time’s Up movement. That really helped me to feel empowered, to have a voice, and not to be afraid to use it and not to feel like I’m being obnoxious or difficult. And what was really incredible was to, for the first time ever, really, really say I have an opinion.”

Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Tobey Maguire Reportedly “Wants to Return as Spider-Man” with Sam Raimi

Lilly continues, sharing that she had “a lot of opinions” about the movie’s script but was given creative control to make changes to her character and final script of the film “with confidence”:

“I have a lot of opinions and I’d love to share them and I’d love to give you my thoughts on all of this. And to do it with confidence and to do it with clarity, instead of, before I even speak, already… brushing my own ideas under the carpet, which is an old habit of mine. Like, ‘Yeah, this probably isn’t a very good idea, but…’ or, ‘You don’t have to use this, I’m just going to tell you what it is…’ Like. all that stuff that I think is is a very common habit of a lot of people and and it was definitely a habit of mine, but instead saying just really openly, ‘Here are my thoughts.’ And that’s a really vulnerable thing to do without the precursor. It actually feels really unnerving because you’re making yourself vulnerable to somebody not liking it, without saying, ‘You might not like this and that’s okay.’ And that was really empowering for me to be heard and to have my ideas actually really, really well-received and valued and then to see them wind up in the final script.”

Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne aka Wasp Antman posters
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Charlie Cox Wants Daredevil to Appear “Way, Way More for Many Years” in MCU

You can watch Lilly’s newest revelations about her time at Marvel below:

Evangeline Lilly reveals that Ant-Man 3 sets the stage for her Hope Pym/Hope Van Dyne character like never before, giving her “own personal growth” and “healing” to occur within her and her Marvel superhero.

Thanking the MeToo and Time’s Up movements, Lilly feels “empowered” and allowed to have her own “opinion” this time around the Marvel wheel, ramping up for one of the biggest MCU films in history.

evangeline lilly as hope van dyne aka the wasp in marvel's ant-man and the wasp
Credit: Marvel Studios

Upon the peak of Evangeline Lilly’s backlash, however, many viewers didn’t hold back their opinions:

Another viewer shared:

Can’t wait for marvel to announce Evangeline Lilly new replacement as the wasp.

Related: Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion’ Cast List Teases Big Name MCU Cameos

Here We Go Again

Now, it seems this turmoil has begun to boil once more, with some viewers sharing this distaste for the Marvel actress and her political standings:

Hopefully the cast didn’t have to listen to her BS politics

Another user shared:

we don’t care about her

Related: Chloe Zhao Officially NOT Directing Any ‘Star Wars’ Movie, Fans Rejoice

The Flip Side

These views do not reflect all fans’ opinions, as many continue to support and even respectfully defend Evangeline Lilly for speaking her voice and sharing her true opinions, advocating for a pro-choice on vaccinations, and more:

Is it really fair to compare Evangeline Lilly to Ezra Miller and Amber Heard? Even to compare Letitia Wright to them. Lilly apologized for what she said, and you or I may not agree with Wright AND she has a responsibility to comply to set rules, but neither of them abused anyone.

Another user wrote:

She is vaccinated, she isn’t anti vaccine like everyone on twitter likes to spout, she is however pro choice of if you get the vaccine or not which is Hella based

Evangeline Lilly’s latest Marvel adventure occurred in What If…?, the animated series that’s opened the Multiverse door for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

The main cast of 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
Credit: Marvel Studios

With Ant-Man: Quantumania (2023) reportedly finishing principal photography, there’s no chance that Evangeline Lilly will be scrapped from this Multiverse Marvel movie that’s set to feature the evil Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).

Lilly’s Wasp character has appeared in Ant-Man (2015), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Marvel’s What If…?, and now Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania alongside Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym and Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man.

More about Doctor Strange

Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. However, a threat emerges that may be too big for his team to handle.

Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez (left), Benedict Wong as Wong (middle), and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange (right)
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Samuel L. Jackson Thrills Marvel Fans, Is “Back With a Fury”

All bets are off for Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Benedict Cumberbatch leads this mind-shattering Marvel movie, with Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), and Sir Patrick Stewart (Professor X) all supporting the Sorceror Supreme.

The Kevin Feige production features numerous Stephen Strange’s, including Evil Doctor Strange, Strange Supreme, and more.

wanda maximoff doctor strange 2 trailer
Credit: Marvel Studios
The Marvel Universe is becoming much more than iconic characters/Earth’s Mightiest Heroes like Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson).
Doctor Strange, Christine Palmer, America Chavez in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man Avenger is leading the way for Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomers Kate BishopMs. Marvel/Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), Eternals’ Thena (Angelina Jolie), and more — especially with his next Spider-Man trilogy that’s currently in the works.

What are your thoughts on Lilly’s statement? Comment below!

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