Evangeline Lilly Rocks It As The Wasp: Exclusive AntMan and The Wasp Interview

After our Exclusive Evangeline Lilly AntMan and The Wasp, Secret Set visit interview I was blown away.  I could definitively relate to everything Evangeline Lilly said, and so did those of you who read the interview!  During the press junket, she did it again!  She spoke about equality, more girl power and gave credit where it was due.  Intelligent, warm and on point, Evangeline Lilly Rocks It As The Wasp: Exclusive AntMan and the Wasp Interview.

I was invited by Disney to the AntMan and the Wasp Press Event that included Cloak and Dagger Interview opportunities All opinions shared are my own.

Evangeline Lilly Rocks It As The Wasp: Exclusive AntMan and The Wasp Interview

It was a pleasure talking to such a well-rounded person.  She started off by focussing on her brain and overachieving.  High school had her dumbing it down and pretending to be the wallflower she is not. She had been scouted to model a couple of times and turned the opportunities down because she did not think that was the kind of job for her.  She didn’t want to be defined by her looks.  One day someone asked what she was afraid off: “This person said, ‘I think you’re afraid of your own greatness.’ I erupted into heaving sobs, and I couldn’t stop crying,” Lilly said. “and something had broken open in me that I didn’t even realize that I had been doing. I had to examine what that pain was. And when I did, I realized how much I had been hiding, and how much I had been trying not to shine, and I decided that I would start just letting my light shine. I wanted to just exercise my brightness… to be bold and bright. I’d never really thought about the fact that auditions can lead to jobs. That hadn’t factored in. It was just like, ‘I’m just gonna go out and just shine!’ You know?”

The Wasp Headlines The Marvel Movie Tittle

Obvious and not underlined enough if you ask me!  I am so happy that my favorite kick but lady Black Widow now has a colleague that has paved the way for an all-female movie or at the very least a Black Widow movie.  Finally, we have a female Marvel hero in the title of a film!  Probably the amazing Victoria Alonso, Marvel Studios’ EVP of Physical Production and Avengers: Infinity War Executive Producer has something to do with propelling equality in the MCU :-).   Additionally, AntMan himself,Paul Rudd said in his exclusive interview, that The Wasp was better suited for the job at hand.

Evangeline Lilly says: “There have been female superheroes in the MCU the whole time, and they’re amazing, they’re strong, and kick ass But I think what this moment in our culture, with #MeToo and #TimesUp, we know we’ve made some progress, and that’s great, but we’re still not equal, and that’s clear by the fact that [Marvel has] made 20 movies, and never had a female in the title. So, this is a big moment, and it is a big deal, and I don’t want to downplay it. I want to celebrate it and be excited about it.”

Kick-Butt and Gracious

She was also quick to defend AntMan and give credit to all those who worked hard in the movie: “I didn’t lift a semi-truck. That was Mister Rudd. Me and my team of incredible stunt women, the CGI crew, the directors – it was such a collaborative effort. We did the heavy lifting. With this film, I was like, ‘Come on, guys, give AntMan a little more credit, he’s pretty bad-ass.’”

Strong Because of Our Femininity, Not In Spite of It.

We know that those in the spotlight need to work on their looks.  Evangeline Lilly was not focussed on a rock hard body for the movie.  Instead, she was working on a job well done that spoke volumes about the power of women: 

“I actually spent way less time worrying about getting my body rock hard and developing visual muscles as I spend in front of a mirror with my stunt doubles, making sure that we didn’t just take a dude and put him in a woman’s body,” she says of her superhero body image. “I didn’t want to send the message that in order to be powerful, strong, capable, and tough, you have to be masculine, and macho, and a dude. “I wanted to show that we are strong because of our femininity, not in spite of it. I wanted to show that: when Hope was Hope, and she was emotional and vulnerable and smiling and pleasant and happy and not like, just a badass bitch. I wanted to show that when she was fighting, she was incorporating grace and elegance and femininity into the fight; it’s ballet.”

Inspiring us all equally

Because we all are heroes and have the right to dream it is wonderful when we hear things like:

“I had a moment recently where my 7-year-old son was pretending to be the Wasp. I still get goosebumps when I tell that story. It makes me – it chokes me up, because that’s a cultural shift, for a little boy to pretend to be a female superhero. This is no small thing.”

We heard this from Anthony Mackie who was proud that he had inspired white kids to be The Falcon. It is a beautiful thing!

AntMan and The Wasp For All Marvel Fans

There is much inclusion in AntMan and the Wasp.  It is not all about girl power as much as I do celebrate it.  It does touch upon real life issues, that do include father-daughter relationships.  I know by now your calendars are marked for July 6th when the movie opens in theaters everywhere.  The question is, who will you go watch it with?  Is AntMan and The Wasp appropriate for children? We got you covered plus we have more for you to enjoy before you watch the movie:

AntMan and The Wasp Secret Set visit

Paul Rudd exclusive set visit interview: AntMan fun facts

Evangeline Lilly exclusive set visit interview: women can’t do it all

Abby Ryder Forton: Getting to know AntMan’s Cassie

Director Peyton Reed exclusive set visit interview: Do AntMan and The Wasp need each other?

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