The Wasp Was Supposed to Debut in ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Audiences are already falling in love with Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but it sounds like her official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut almost happened earlier.

Peyton Reed, who directs Ant-Man and the Wasp, recently addressed how the upcoming sequel is entirely its own thing. As Reed revealed, the sequel standing on its own has its benefits, as Hope was initially expected to first suit up in Captain America: Civil War.

“There was a point, really early on, where she was going to be introduced in Civil War.” Reed revealed to IGN. “But there just simply wasn’t screen time to do justice to that character, so we’ve done it here.”

For some Marvel fans, especially those who are aware of the long comic history that The Wasp has, Hope’s actual introduction is certainly a long time coming. And as it turns out, those involved with Marvel are more than aware of that.

“This whole movie was about putting her at the forefront and was about making good on the promise of the end of the last film where she says, ‘About damn time.’” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained to ComicBook.com. “And that whole movie was about the fact that clearly she was qualified to put on a suit and do what was right but she kept being prevented by her father, for reasons that were revealed in that film and reasons that have to do with her mother and now, of course, she becomes the key hero to attempt to rescue her mom and seeing that father-daughter relationship repaired in this movie was something that was great fun for us and to see here step in the forefront.”

“I feel like she’s born into it and made for it more than I am,” Paul Rudd echoed to ComicBook.com during a set visit. “She has the focus and the drive and I think the desire to do it maybe more than me, at least at first.”

Would you have wanted The Wasp to make her debut in Civil War, or are you happy with what ultimately happened? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6th. Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.