You can’t have missed the controversy surrounding MCU star Evangeline Lilly over the past few days, given her – let’s say – atypical reaction to the coronavirus outbreak. The actress, known for playing Hope Van Dyne in the Ant-Man movies, has revealed on social media that she’s not practicing social distancing, as is recommended by authorities worldwide, as she doesn’t want to impact on her freedom of movement. Ironically, though, her views may end up seriously restricting her screentime in Ant-Man 3.
We Got This Covered has heard from sources – the same ones who told us a She-Hulk show is coming to Disney Plus and that Ahsoka Tano will cameo in The Mandalorian season 2, both of which we now know to be true – that the studio is seriously upset with Lilly’s attitude and, probably more importantly, the social media storm that she’s whipped up. Many are calling for her to be removed from the MCU, in fact, particularly given her worrying comments that suggest she believes COVID-19 is a hoax.
From what we understand, Marvel is now considering doing as these people are asking and letting Lilly go after her current contract expires. For the immediate future, however, it seems her role in Ant-Man 3 will be reduced, which would be be a big come-down for the actress, following Ant-Man and the Wasp making her the first leading superheroine of the franchise. Still, we know that Marvel pays close attention to Twitter outrage – see: James Gunn’s temporary removal from Guardians 3 – so this would make sense for them to do.
Given where Ant-Man 3 may end up going, story-wise, shuffling Hope into a supporting role could probably be done pretty organically, too. Avengers: Endgame aged up Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie, so presumably she’ll take after her dad and become Stature in the threequel. As such, Emma Fuhrmann could easily step up and become Paul Rudd’s new partner in crime-fighting instead of Lilly.
Of course, the Gunn situation did a complete 180 degree turn when he was eventually rehired, so it’s possible that Lilly could end up back in Marvel’s good books, too. Maybe if she publicly switches her position on the issue and defuses all the online negativity, it’ll do the trick. Unless that happens, though, it’s looking like Wasp fans should expect less screentime for the character when Ant-Man 3 arrives sometime in 2022.