As we reported earlier, Marvel’s Ant-Man finally kicked off production in San Francisco, commemorating the launch by sharing an official photo of leading man Paul Rudd as reformed criminal Scott Lang. During the Marvel panel at San Diego Comic-Con, we also learned that Evangeline Lilly would be acting alongside Rudd, playing Hope Van Dyne (or Hope Pym, as Kevin Feige mistakenly referred to her as). And now we know what she’s going to look like in the pivotal role.
Evangeline Lilly posted these photos to her Instagram page, claiming through a series of hash tags that it’s her first day on set with Paul Rudd, that she loves her life, and that she’s officially playing Hope Van Dyne. The name isn’t just semantics. If she were going to be a Pym, then she’d have a familial connection to Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man who will be played, in this movie, by Michael Douglas. The fact that she’s Hope Van Dyne opens up doors to new possibilities, which we’ll dig into right after we share the second photo that Lilly posted:
"How’s my new do?" she asks her followers. Well, it reminds us a little bit – OK, a LOT bit – of Marvel’s mighty superhero, The Wasp:
The Wasp, in the comics, was Janet Van Dyne. Introduced in Tales to Astonish #44 (in 1963), Janet was a founding member of The Avengers, and was partnered with Hank Pym in numerous adventures. Knowing that Evangeline Lilly is specifically playing Hope Van Dyne, I’m willing to wager that she is related to the original Wasp – Janet Van Dyne – who we will meet in flashbacks. It’s starting to sound like Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man will have a lot of flashbacks. We know that supporting players from previous Marvel sequels (like Iron Man 2) have been cast. We know that the production was looking for an actor who could play a younger version of Michael Douglas (or a young Hank Pym). Maybe Hank hangs up the Ant-Man tech when something terrible happens to Janet? And maybe, by the end of this movie, Evangeline Lilly will step into the role of The Wasp, to fulfill her mother’s (or relative’s) destiny?
Kevin Feige as said that this is a "passing of the torch" movie. We assumed he meant from Hank Pym to Scott Lang. Maybe he also means from Janet Van Dyne to Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne? It makes sense.
Ant-Man will be busy filming. It’s racing to meet a July 17, 2015 release date.
