For the past few weeks, Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne/the Wasp in the MCU, has been involved in a lot of controversies due to her attendance in an anti-vax protest in Washington D.C. and, most recently, for posting a video of her calling out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hear out the anti-vaxxers. The actress has received a lot of backlash as a result, with some MCU fans even wanting her out of the franchise and replaced by Jennifer Garner. Now, it looks like her future in the MCU is now actually in limbo as a result.
According to Giant Freakin Robot, Marvel Studios is now considering whether Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania should be Lilly's final film in the MCU as a result of her recent controversies that have continuously gained media attention. However, no official decision has been made yet. We also have to take note that this story didn't come from the major trades or outlets so we have to take it with a grain of salt as well.
If this report is true, it's not surprising that Marvel Studios is considering ending their relationship with Lilly as a result of the controversies. From a PR standpoint, it would be difficult to have Lilly stay on board, especially once they do press tours and junkets for Quantumania where the controversies will likely get brought up and a lot of fans have also already expressed their disdain for the actress, who is playing one of the major heroes in the MCU.
Of course, if Marvel decides to let go of Lilly, the question now is what will happen to the character of the Wasp? Are they going to recast her? Do some reshoots and end her run in Quantumania (which has already finished principal photography)? Will they have another character take the mantle of the Wasp? There are a lot of options that they can do if ever they decide to end Lilly's run in the MCU.
However, it is possible that we won't be seeing Marvel make a decision anytime soon and it is likely that all they will do for now is to look out if the controversy will become bigger and could potentially affect their PR look or if it will just die down and people will move on from it quickly. Whatever decision Marvel will make in terms of Lilly's future in the franchise as a result of the controversies, it will definitely garner a lot of reactions from everyone, especially since they rarely get involved in situations like this.
Also Read: MCU Fans Drag Letitia Wright into Evangeline Lilly's Anti-Vax Controversy
You can catch Lilly's next MCU appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which is set to be released in theaters on July 28, 2023.
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