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Evangeline Lilly has been quick to remind people that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s threequel Quantumania isn’t Ant-Man 3, but Ant-Man and the Wasp 2. Hope Van Dyne became the first female character to get her name in the title of an MCU blockbuster, setting the stage for Captain Marvel and Black Widow to follow.
Fractured families and distant parents are one of the franchise’s most staple tropes, but director Peyton Reed’s series switches things up a bit by having Hope as the one experiencing daddy issues, while Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang wants nothing more than to be the best father possible.
It’s an interesting upending of a dynamic the superhero saga has leaned into perhaps too often, especially now that Michelle Pfeiffer is bringing the requisite warmth to her role as Hope’s mother Janet, allowing them both to play off the curmudgeonly gravitas of Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lilly admitted that her fourth appearance as Hope has seen her finally get to grips with the role, with the actress revealing she’s got a much better understanding of who she is now.
“Hope is an odd enigma for me. I wish I could say otherwise because I want to honor her; I want to honor every character I ever play. But the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before. We’re just a little over halfway through. And I will say that after I read the script of the film, I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to Peyton, ‘Oh my God, I think I finally get her’.
Three or four films in, I thought, ‘I think I get it now’. So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference. But I don’t think anyone else will. I think I’m a good bluffer. That’s what I do for a living. But I know the difference and I’m hopeful that in this one, I’ll feel like I can watch it and go, ‘Yeah, you had a better handle on her in this one than you ever have before’. That’s my goal, anyway. That’s my hope.”
With Jonathan Majors on his way to wreak havoc on the MCU as Kang the Conqueror, a lot of fans are wondering if Scott and Hope even stand a chance. The bad news is that we won’t be finding out for a long time, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania not coming to theaters until February 2023.