Ant-Man and the Wasp star Evangeline Lilly initially thought her role in the series was a joke, revealing her unfamiliarity with the characters.
With the mainstream success superhero and comic book movies have found in recent years, some might be a little sceptical when Hollywood stars claim great knowledge about their characters when signing on to their respective projects.
Evangeline Lilly didn’t try to fool anyone when she signed up for Ant-Man, however, telling Fan Expo Boston (via ComicBook.com) that she initially thought the whole thing was a joke:
“I was just finishing up on my press tour for The Hobbit when my manager called me and said, ‘I got a call from Marvel, and they’re wondering if you might want to meet and see if this new franchise, Ant-Man, might be appealing to you.’ And I laughed.
“I said, ‘Have they run out of superheroes and now they’re making them up?’ Because I never heard of Ant-Man, I genuinely thought it was a joke. And then he was like, ‘No, no, no, he’s one of the original Avengers, this is the real thing.’ I was like, ‘Well, the truth is, I was just a super-elf. I don’t really need to be a superhero.’ And he goes, ‘Hang on, hear me out, Ant-Man will be played by Mr. Paul Rudd and it will be directed by the Edgar Wright.
“And I was like, ‘Hold the phone! Who is making this movie, this sounds awesome! And why is a superhero gonna be Paul Rudd and why is Edgar Wright directing it, I love this, what is happening in my life!’ I said okay, I have to do some homework, I need to watch a Marvel movie and find out what these cool dudes are up to, ‘cause they sound really cool. So then I spent a weekend — I think I watched six Marvel movies in one weekend. I was like, ‘I’m in! I don’t know how I missed all of this, but this is so cool! Yes, I want to do this.’”
Lilly’s excitement about the prospect of working with Edgar Wright, unfortunately for her, wasn’t quite fulfilled. Wright was attached to direct the movie, as Lilly mentions, but ended up exiting the project due to creative differences.
Do you like Lilly’s honest approach regarding the MCU and how she knew nothing about the characters involved with Ant-Man before signing on?
SEE ALSO: Evangeline Lilly doesn’t like the idea of a standalone Wasp movie
SEE ALSO: Evangeline Lilly would like to see Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel leading a team of female Avengers
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Ant-Man and the Wasp sees Peyton Reed returning to the director’s chair and stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michael Pena (Luis), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie Lang), Judy Greer (Maggie), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton) and T.I. (Dave), while new additions to the cast include Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne, Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster/Goliath, Hannah John-Kamen as The Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo.
