Evangeline Lilly officially joined the MCU in 2014 when she filmed Ant-Man and it's fair to say it's a very different universe now than it was then.
Talking to Digital Spy for the UK release of her new movie South of Heaven, Lilly praised how the MCU has expanded in terms of its diversity since her debut, especially for major female characters.
At the time of Ant-Man, Hope van Dyne (aka The Wasp) was one of only a few major female superheroes in the MCU, and she was the first female hero to get her name in the title with Ant-Man and The Wasp.
Lilly recalled that after the Ant-Man sequel, she talked to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D'Esposito about female representation in the MCU and was promised it was "top of their agenda".
"Victoria Alonso has always been a champion for her female superheroes. She's been championing that since the beginning," she enthused.
"When I first started, I felt like, once again, as is always the case in my career, I'm grateful to be in the Boys' Club. I'm lucky enough to be invited to the sausage party. I've got to pull up my panties, and get ready to go, because it's going to be me and a bunch of dudes.
"And now it's beautifully different. I feel like I have female camaraderie. I feel like I have a sisterhood. I feel like when I'm uncertain or confused, there are other women to reach out to."
Lilly continued by saying that compared to potentially reaching out to her male co-stars, it's different to talk to the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer and Brie Larson when she has something to discuss.
"One, there can just be differences in how we approach things, and how we approach working together. But two, there's also always that uncertainty of not wanting to create any confusion about, you know, romantic intentions," she explained.
"It's just comfortable and clear. Working with Michelle on Quantumania, it was amazing. Ostensibly it was like having a mama bear with me on set, and also a sister, and also a co-star. We really leaned on each other a lot, and we supported one another a lot.
"Brie Larson was out in England at the same time [as Ant-Man 3], shooting her new film [The Marvels]. Her and I reached out to each other. I reached out to her when things were going on. Literally, I was like, 'Hey, what's going on, on your end? What do we do about this?'.
"I didn't have that before. It's different. It's different being in a Boys' Club. It's such a comforting, beautiful thing, and I think it's enabled me to feel so much more empowered within the Marvel space, and I'm so grateful that they've done such a good job of it, too."
Lilly also talked to Digital Spy about the tough filming of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania due to the ongoing global situation.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is released in cinemas on July 28, 2023, while South of Heaven is available to buy or rent in the UK from January 24.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
