Credit: Marvel StudiosIt seems like one Marvel franchise may be over for good, with one Ant-Man actor confirming that they’re no longer under contract at the studio.
Marvel may have produced the (temporarily) highest-grossing film of all time in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame, but the studio’s efforts in the past few years have been anything but consistent.
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With the exception of the odd hit – such as Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – Marvel has struggled to pull in the big bucks quite like the days of the Infinity Saga.
In recent years, the likes of The Marvels (2023) and Thunderbolts* (2025) have qualified as box-office disappointments, with the former gaining the unwanted title of the studio’s biggest flop ever and the latter struggling to pull in audiences despite the positive response from fans and critics alike.
Before The Marvels hit theaters, another film briefly held the title of Marvel’s biggest flop. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) was derided by fans and critics alike upon its release, with the CGI and script generating particular ire. It also earned Marvel Studios its first-ever Razzie nominations (four, to be precise).
Since then, Disney CEO Bob Iger has reinforced Disney and Marvel’s new ethos of focus on quality over quantity. Iger also confirmed that the studio will focus on its stronger superheroes, something many took as a slight on the Ant-Man franchise, which has never been one of Disney’s biggest earners, even at its best.
Case in point: All three Ant-Man films combined took home $1.6 billion worldwide, which pales in comparison to the trilogy totals for Iron Man ($2.4 billion) and Guardians of the Galaxy (nearly $2.5 billion).
Until now, there’s been no word on whether this actually spells the end for the Ant-Man franchise. However, one update from one of its biggest stars, Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp), doesn’t sound promising.
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Evangeline Lilly Is Out of Marvel
Lilly – who previously also confirmed that she is retiring from acting – has revealed that she no longer has any contractual obligations to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I have actually been on a hiatus from acting for the past three years already [since finishing work on Quantumania],” Lilly told Variety. “This time outside of the business has brought me a grounding sense of fulfillment and joy.” Lilly added that while she may still return to the industry, she is “not under any contractual obligations to anybody. I am devoting my time to my humanitarian work and my writing.”
From what its stars have said in the past, most actors sign on to a six-picture deal when they join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While they often extend (such as Robert Downey Jr., who had actually fulfilled the original terms of his deal by the release of Iron Man 3 (2013) but still stuck around for several more years), others do not.
It’s been reported that Marvel wants to recreate the magic of Avengers: Endgame with the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday (2026). While apparently incomplete, its cast list is already impressively long, with Robert Downey Jr. appearing as Doctor Doom and Ant-Man himself, Paul Rudd, joining Earth’s mightiest heroes to take on the villain. However, it sounds like we can rule the Wasp out of appearing.
At this point, a fourth Ant-Man film seems like a tall order — especially since the last two installments were Ant-Man and the Wasp movies, which is a tough sell without, well, the Wasp. The two have become something of a package deal, so it’ll be interesting to see how Marvel handles Evangeline Lilly’s absence.
Would you like to see Evangeline Lilly return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe?