2015's Ant-Man introduced us to Hope Van Dyne, a (mostly) newly created character for the Marvel Cinematic Universe revealed to be the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. Those two were aged up for their MCU debut, and instead of being founding Avengers, they helped to form S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now, Hope is The Wasp, and after taking over that mantle in 2018's Ant-Man and The Wasp, Evangeline Lilly will reprise the role in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
During a recent interview with Beyond the Mouse, the actress shared her thoughts on exploring a different side of her character in this next movie, moving away from the hero's tough exterior.
"I find myself pushing against this tough badass chick thing. Which is really interesting because at the beginning of my career I was pushing that so hard. I was like Kate is going to be badass," Lilly explained, referring to her role in Lost. "She's going to keep up with all the guys. She is going to be capable and strong. And then this whole massive shift in the industry happened. Suddenly these characters were everywhere. I guess I must be a contrarian by nature. Because I find myself going 'well hang on a minute.' We're all so fragile and vulnerable and small and soft."
"I find myself going 'Woah, we aren't supposed to just be men with boobs'. Like what does it mean to be a woman? That question of what does it mean to be a woman is extremely important right now. What I think is crucial is that we're exploring that right now through our stories."
"I'm really excited," she said of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. "I can't give anything away but I think, my hunch is, I may have manifested something in that space in the Marvel world with Hope. Because I think the direction we're going with her might be very satisfying for me in that way."
It certainly won't hurt to give Hope a little more personality, and Marvel Studios definitely needs to give the character more to do...especially as she's missed out on teaming up with the Avengers! We'll have to wait and see, of course, but it sounds like Lilly has big plans for Hope moving forward.
Click on the "Next" button below to check out the
villains confirmed and rumoured for Marvel's Phase 4!
10. Kro - Eternals
Eternals now isn't arriving in theaters until next November, but some leaked toy packaging has confirmed that aside from the Celestials, the movie's lead villain will be the Deviant, Kro.
If that action figure is any indication, his tendrils have been lifted straight from Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.'s Eternals run, but he's definitely undergone something of a transformation compared to what you see above! The aforementioned packaging reveals that he's, "A powerful Deviant unlike any other the Eternals have faced over the millennia."
It's added that "Kro's appearance is the harbinger for a global threat," a reference to the looming threat of the Celestials. Right now, we don't even know who is voicing this CGI baddie, though!
9. Madame Masque - Hawkeye
We're still waiting for confirmation about who is playing Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, but there have been plenty of other rumours about what's to come in the Disney+ TV series.
The Tracksuit Mafia is likely going to cross paths with Clint Barton, while it's been said that he'll come face-to-face with his brother Trickshot too. However, the rumoured lead villain is said to be Madame Masque, an Iron Man villain who has a history with both versions of Hawkeye.
A wealthy socialite, Whitney Frost is the daughter of Maggia leader Count Nefaria. Hiding her face behind a golden mask after she was horribly scarred, her quest for vengeance has seen her fight on the sides of both good and evil; it's the latter which really seems to draw her in, though.
8. Electro - Spider-Man 3
Following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, there were a lot of big theories about who Spider-Man 3's villain might be. Kraven the Hunter was somewhere near the top of the list, as were the Green Goblin and Sinister Six; however, a name no one suggested was Max Dillon, a.k.a. Electro.
The villain first made his live-action debut in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 played by Jamie Foxx. Shockingly (no pun intended), the Oscar-winner is set to reprise the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...this time, he's not going to have blue skin, though, so it's probably not the same version!
A now deleted Instagram post from Foxx has led to there being a lot of speculation about this being a "Spider-Verse" movie, but that's unconfirmed, and all we really know right now is that the wall-crawler will once again square off with this electrically charged baddie on the big screen.
7. Taskmaster - Black Widow
We should have actually seen Black Widow by now, but the movie is instead coming to theaters next May (a whole year after it was supposed to be released). Melina Vostokoff, Red Guardian, and Yelena Belova have all typically been portrayed as villains in the comic books, but it looks like they're going to be allies to Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Someone who is going to be terrorising Black Widow, however, is Taskmaster. We're still not entirely sure who is beneath the mask - Rick Mason is the top candidate right now - but it's been confirmed that he'll utilise the movements of characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man. That's going to make him a true threat to Natasha when they go toe-to-toe.
Dreykov (the man in charge of the Red Room) will likely be pulling Taskmaster's strings.
6. Baron Zemo - The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
Zemo was the lead villain in Captain America: Civil War, and successfully managed to tear The Avengers apart before being taken into custody by Black Panther and the C.I.A. That's quite the achievement, and we can only guess what his plan is going to be in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Based on what little we know about the Disney+ TV series, something tells us it will have something to do with creating super soldiers or controlling the new Captain America. There were once rumours about a virus, but it's believed that subplot was removed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Regardless, he's going to don his mask, so fingers crossed the Baron also assembles the Thunderbolts.
5. The Mandarin - Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
The Mandarin was first mentioned in 2008's Iron Man, and while it looked like we'd finally get to meet the villain in Iron Man 3, it didn't take long for that movie to out him as an English actor called Trevor.
It was a funny punchline, but one which definitely didn't do the character justice. Marvel Studios would later go some way in making that up to fans by revealing that the real Mandarin is out there somewhere, and we're now set to meet him in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!
Tony Leung Chiu-wai will play the iconic villain, and rumour has it he forces Shang-Chi to enter an underground fight tournament to win the Ten Rings he's spent years hunting for. Fin Fang Foom is expected to appear too, so there's definitely going to be some epic action scenes in the movie.
4. Minotaur - Thor: Love And Thunder
Christian Bale has been cast as the villain in Thor: Love and Thunder, though we've yet to hear who he's playing. However, the rumours are all pointing to the former Batman transforming into Minotaur!
Dario Agger is the head of Roxxon, and he has ambitious plans to use each of the Nine Realms for financial game by pilfering them of their fossil fuels. Aligning himself with Malekith the Accursed, Agger didn't care who he killed along the way, and that brought him into conflict with both Thor and the Mighty Thor (he's a physical match for them both as he transforms into a literal Minotaur).
This would be a different type of villain for the Thor franchise, but with mentions of Roxxon spotted on the set of Loki, it definitely feels like Marvel Studios is finally taking advantage of that evil organisation.
3. Nightmare - Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
There have been rumblings about Nightmare being part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for a while now, though it's unclear whether that changed after Scott Derrickson's departure.
Someone is seemingly pulling the Scarlet Witch's strings, and so we wouldn't be at all surprised if it's Nightmare she and the Sorcerer Supreme have to team-up to defeat. However, it's equally as likely that Mephisto is the true big bad as he's arguably a much bigger threat than this demon.
Either way, Nightmare's name has been cropping up online since the beginning, so it shouldn't be too much longer before we find out whether Sam Raimi also plans to make use of this villain.
2. Namor The Sub-Mariner - Black Panther 2
Namor the Sub-Mariner is long overdue for his big screen debut, and after Avengers: Endgame teased his existence when Black Widow and Okoye talked about undersea earthquakes, it's no wonder there are rumours pointing to the anti-hero battling T'Challa (or Shuri) in Black Panther 2.
The sequel is a logical place to introduce the character, especially if nations like Atlantis and Latveria are about to become key parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Phase 4 and beyond.
After appearing in Ryan Coogler's movie, there's a lot Marvel Studios can do with Namor on the big - or small - screen. For starters, he could join the Avengers or X-Men, but initially using him as an antagonist in Black Panther 2 could be what really helps put the character on the map in live-action.
1. Kang The Conqueror - Ant-Man 3
The Ant-Man movies have always been fun, but they've never really had a huge impact on what's happening elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That looks set to change in Peyton Reed's upcoming threequel, though, because Jonathan Majors is set to play Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man 3.
The Young Avengers are expected to play a pivotal role in proceedings, so that could go some way in explaining where Kang comes in (Iron Lad was a younger version of Kang from an earlier point in his life). Either way, there's no way he's just a one-and-done baddie for this next instalment of the franchise.
We're fully expecting Kang to be a major player in Phase 4 and beyond, and this is likely just going to be his introduction. Still, it makes this movie one we should definite be keeping an eye on.