Evangeline Lilly Thought ANT-MAN Was A Joke When She First Learned About The Marvel Film
Prior to the release of the first Ant-Man film, Marvel's pint size heroes weren't given much thought, and now Ant-Man and the Wasp star Evangeline Lilly admits she initially thought the idea was a joke...
In the comics, Ant-Man and the Wasp are founding members of the Avengers, which gives them a special significance despite not being one of Marvel's most popular characters. But before the release of the first Ant-Man film, many thought the hero may be too silly for the big screen.
And audiences weren't the only ones to have some doubts about the character, as Ant-Man and the Wasp star Evangeline Lilly revealed at Fan Expo Boston that she thought an Ant-Man movie 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.’" Lilly explained to fans before revealing her initial response. "And I laughed."
However, despite initially laughing off an Ant-Man film, the actress would go on to explain what got her to take the Marvel project more seriously.
"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.’"
According to the star, the mention of Paul Rudd and Edgar Wright immediately sparked her interest and led to her spending a weekend researching the role and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"I think I watched six Marvel movies in one weekend." Lilly said. "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.’”
As we all know, director Edgar Wright would eventually depart Ant-Man, but fortunately for audiences, Lilly remained attached and quickly became a fan-favorite. And with the MCU potentially shifting its focus to newer heroes like the Wasp after Avengers 4, it was probably a wise decision for the actress.