“Maybe you just need someone watching your back…like a partner?”
Though a handful of eagle-eyed readers threatened to ruin the surprise, Empire has officially lifted the lid on its exclusive concept art for Ant-Man and the Wasp, which shows Hope Van Dyne soaring through the air in true superhero fashion.
Brought to life by the equally kick-ass Evangeline Lilly, below you’ll see a pre-CG shot of the young Wasp taking care of an armed goon, who is sent spinning off his motorcycle in a state of electrified shock. Whether this has any relation to that super-sized Hello Kitty Pez dispenser remains to be seen, though this is still an exciting peek at 2018’s other superhero extravaganza, which pits the likes of Lilly and the returning Paul Rudd alongside Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, a newcomer to the MCU who has signed on to play the long-lost Janet Van Dyne.
And make no mistake, after spending much, if not all of the original movie rooted to the sidelines, Evangeline Lilly’s diminutive character has graduated from supporting player into a bona fide lead, which is why it was so important for Peyton Reed that her alter-ego was included in the final title for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
It was important to me, in this movie called Ant-Man and the Wasp, that she’s not a supporting character. She’s a lead character. She’s become a fully-formed hero.
About damn time, indeed. Ant-Man and the Wasp is booked in for a release on July 6th, by which point the world will have already bore witness to Avengers: Infinity War and all of its many Earth-shaking events. But don’t fret; just like Black Panther before it, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man sequel will seemingly take place soon after the fallout of Marvel’s Civil War.
