Evangeline Lilly, a.k.a. The Wasp, In "Ant-Man And The Wasp" Reveals Exclusive Details About The Movie And Her Superheroine Role
As the Marvel Universe welcomes back Evangeline Lilly in the highly-anticipated Ant-Man and The Wasp, this Canadian actress gives us the scoop on how she prepared to reprise her role as the pocket-sized superhero.
She may be small in stature, but let us assure you that her powers, heart, and sass are all supersized.
The Wasp, whose real name is Hope van Dyne and happens to be a founding member of The Avengers, makes a comeback this year with Evangeline Lilly bringing the character to life for the second time. She stars alongside Paul Rudd who also returns to his role as Ant-Man in this sequel that's bound to be a box office smash.
In this exclusive interview with Evangeline, she gives us an inside look on how she prepped for the summer hit and hints at all the elements about the film we should be aching to experience; talking about everything from costume fittings, surprising character arcs, to A-list stars joining the cast and an engaging love story to boot, Evangeline knows exactly how to get her movie audience itching for more!
READ: Evangeline Lilly Fawns Over Marie Lozano’s Outfit, Made By This Filipino Designer
Happy to be back!
When asked about her return to the Marvel universe as The Wasp, Evangeline only has positive things to say about the experience.
She says, "I was just so proud and happy to have been a part of a really good movie; a movie that I knew I was excited to show my kids one day, a movie that I knew no matter what the critics said or no matter how it was received that I would be proud of and that I really loved."
With this much buzz surrounding the movie, we have little doubt that the superhero flick will be worth a big screen watch.
But more than just simply being back on set, what excited Evangeline the most is finding herself in the presence of some of the industry's most heavyweight names: Michael Douglas sat on this film's directorial chair, while Michelle Pfeifer and Laurence Fishburne were much-welcomed additions to the cast.
"Not only is [Michelle Pfeifer] the most beautiful woman to have ever walked planet earth and a great actor, she was also Cat Woman, and that was the only superhero that, when I was in my teens, I would lay awake at night and fantasize about... They broke the news to me that Michelle was in fact going to play Hope’s mother. It had nothing to do with my request I’m sure, but they realized one of my dreams by casting her," Evangeline gushes.
Laurence, who many recognize as Morpheus from The Matrix trilogy, will also be lending his star power as he takes on the role of Goliath, alter ego Bill Foster—the resulting mega-giant from one of his experiments with ex-colleague-turned-rival, Hank Pym (Hope van Dyne's father).
And so, the plot thickens!
Perfect heroine, perfect costume
Knowing perfectly well how her audience expects The Wasp to be a powerful female lead, Evangeline and her costume designers worked incredibly hard to craft her look; after all, a superhero is almost always just as good as her outfit and its capabilities—The Wasp's had to be nothing short of pure awesomeness.
Evangeline describes that The Wasp's outfit was developed from a prototype from the 80s but modernized to fit Hope's combat needs in present day.
"When she fights, I felt like she should look effortless, as just something she was born to do. And that kind of fluidity is built into the costume, too, there’s something very simple, but elegant and feminine about it. When the Wasp suit finally got finished, I put it on, and it was like the whole room just went, 'There it is.' And something changed in my DNA, and I felt like a superhero," she elaborates.
Love, family, and everything in-between
But despite Ant-Man and The Wasp being outwardly action-packed and thrilling, Evangeline says that at the heart of its plot is still a touching family drama—or in this case, a family reconciliation and meeting of the minds.
Fans of the first movie will remember how Hope and her father ended on shaky, fragile terms. Now attempting to nurse a broken heart from a strained relationship with him, Hope focuses on making up for lost time this time around. The two, after all, are both on a quest to find and bring back Janet van Dyne—Hope's mom, and Hank's wife.
Initially hurting from Janet's absence in their lives in isolation, Hope and Hank use their shared pain to go on a mission of a lifetime together.
Revealing a little about the high-tech world we'll come face to face with in the movie, Evangeline says, "They’ve built the quantum tunnel because they are both passionately trying to get back to the quantum realm safely to find Janet Van Dyne, Hope’s mother and Hank’s wife, and bring her back. That’s their mission."
On the other hand, Hope's relationship with Ant-Man who goes by the everyday name of Scott Lang, might be a little chillier.
They've gone from hot to cold, and cold to hot over the course of a couple of years, but have unfortunately settled for confusing terms after everything they'd gone through. Hope might be on her way to repairing familial relationships, but she has yet to hit the sweet spot when it comes to romance.
"They have not really been on speaking terms for about two years. But, of course, love doesn’t die just because there are bad circumstances. So we pick up this film up where she’s angry with him, and they haven't spoken in a long time but Hope needs him. She’s got this mission, and she’s really focused on her mother, but underneath it all she still loves Scott," Evangeline concludes.
With everything that Evangeline has shared about Marvel's next masterpiece, who wouldn't want to watch Ant-Man and The Wasp?
See you at the movies!
Photo from @evangelinelillyofficial
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