It appears Evangeline Lilly's time as The Wasp in the MCU has reached its end.
The actress has just shared a post on Instagram confirming that she plans to "[step] away" from Hollywood for the foreseeable future. In that, Lilly included a 2006 video which saw her talk about future aspirations, including retiring from acting to start a family and focus on humanitarian work.
Now, it appears she's making that dream come true.
"I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision. Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings," Lilly captioned the post. "Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment."
"I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong."
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania received largely negative reviews, but set the stage for Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne to be major players in the Multiverse Saga and, more specifically, the next Avengers movies.
With those set to start shooting over the next year or two, it seems unlikely Lilly will come out of retirement to play The Wasp (and if she does, we find it hard to imagine it being anything more than a cameo). On the plus side, Ant-Man can still team up with his daughter, Cassie!
"I’m going to make a pitch that I think it might be time for a Wasp standalone film," Lilly said at the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premiere last year. "Do we agree? Do we agree?"
"These are a commitment," she later added when quizzed about her MCU future. "They take a lot to do, and I have two kids at home. Every time that call comes in, I take a deep breath and go, ‘Whoa, am I ready for this? Am I willing to do it again?’ But every time I do. I do it again."
Lilly first joined the MCU in 2015's Ant-Man and was cast as Hope by original director Edgar Wright (she even considered leaving the project when he parted ways with Marvel Studios). She returned in 2018's Ant-Man and The Wasp and was then sidelined until Avengers: Endgame's final act.
As well as returning in Quantumania, Lilly has voiced a Hope Variant in the animated What If...? TV series.