Will Evangeline Lilly's Character Hope van Dyne be the WASP in ANT-MAN?



There's been a lot of confusion about actor Evangeline Lilly's character in Ant-Man. This was mostly due to an error in Marvel's initial announcement post (that was later corrected and they issued an apology via social media) on their website stating Lilly was cast as Hope Pym, but it was clarified that she is actually Hope van Dyne.

In the comic book universe, Hope is the daughter of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Dougals) and Janet van Dyne. Douglas has hinted at a tragic accident to Janet in Marvel's Ant-Man movie but no further details were made.

This is an interesting twist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) because not only is Pym portrayed as an older scientist who is not a fan of super heroes — per the Comic-Con 2014 sizzle reel shown at Marvel Studios' panel — and actor Paul Rudd will be Pym's understudy, thief Scott Lang, who becomes Ant-Man. This film has also been called a "heist" movie and a "passing of the torch film," which is assumed that Pym passes the Ant-Man suit down to Lang who then becomes a hero.

Getting back to Hope van Dyne, it is surprising that she has taken on Janet's last name and not the last name of Pym. This signals some potential relationship issues between Pym and Janet, unless the tragic accident is Janet passing during childbirth and as a way to honor her memory, Pym gives their daughter her mother's last name. (Lots of speculation in this paragraph, by the way.)

So if Janet has some kind of tragic accident, then does this mean there will be no Wasp in the MCU? A recent report by Variety.com says Wasp will in Ant-Man and will be adapted for the movie universe. The trade website wrote:

"Preliminary footage has already been shot — a harrowing action sequence for the film, which co-stars Corey Stoll and Evangeline Lilly (as the Wasp, another key Avenger), was shown at Comic-Con with Lang escaping on the back of a flying ant."

If this report is true, then Lilly's character of Hope van Dyne will become the adapted MCU version of the Wasp. However, Marvel Studios has yet to comment on this report and this is sure to be a secret for quite some time since Ant-Man start filming on August 18.

Ant-Man releases in theaters on July 17, 2015.