'Shame on you': Evangeline Lilly reacts to Marvel layoffs, slams Disney's decision

Evangeline Lilly, best known for the role of Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has slammed the recent decision of Marvel layoffs taken by Disney, which includes the members of the studio's visual development team. The Hollywood actress has called the decision "disgusting and horrible".

Evangeline Lilly criticises Disney's decision

Taking to her Instagram profile, the Marvel actress shared a video of hers in which she addressed the layoffs. Expressing her anger, she wrote in the caption, "Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI band?!? Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry?? Disgusting. California lawmakers...where are you?!?!

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She further wrote, "To the @marvelstudios artists who designed and brought to life the glory days of Marvel...I salute you. I was there. I know that you did. I know how passionately you worked round the clock to make magic happen. You are the magicians, no matter what the Wizards of our new Oz make it look like going forward. I will never forget."

"@disney SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away. Fans please share the love @andyparkart. Tell him how much his art has meant to you over the years. He was responsible for designing SO many years your face @marvelstudios characters. @producer.patrick Thank you for spreading the word. ‘Everybody please check out his full post (you can click through in my stories),’ Evangeline concluded.

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Fans' and artists' reaction to Evangeline Lily's outburst towards Disney's decision

After Evangeline slammed Disney, many took to the comment section to express their views as well. One user wrote, "This is beautiful to see; it's this simple! Thanks for your solidarity." Another user wrote, "Andy is an incredible artist, and I hope they could give him another chance." “I'm going back to reading comics, drawn by actual people,” wrote the third user.

Anthony Francisco wrote, "Thank you so much! I appreciate that you shared this. I was part of the visual development team too! I designed Baby Groot, Teen Groot, the Dora Milaje , Okoye , Namor , Loki for Thor: Ragnarok! Worked with Andy on your movies too ! I did the keyframes when you first saw your suite as well as all the ants in the first Ant-Man! And the most popular keyframe that I created that they wrote in the script was when Ant-Man fed sugar water to one of the ants. I really loved working at Marvel from 2012 to 2021! I have known Andy way before Marvel and I must say that one of the artists i would think they would want to keep would be him. I really didn’t think they needed to dissolve the whole department. I am still in shock. I am so grateful, though, that I got to be part of this team. I hope someday someone makes a documentary about us."

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Patrick Caligiuri also wrote, "Thank you for using your voice to help amplify such an important issue. I'm humbled you shared this post."

All about Evangeline Lilly

Lilly gained recognition after starring as Kate Austen in the drama Lost, which aired from 2004 to 2010. She has been part of other shows, including Kingdom Hospital, Smallville, Stealing Sinatra, and What If...? and Lost among others.

Lilly has also been part of renowned films – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Real Steel, Afterwards, The Long Weekend, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, White Chicks and Freddy vs Jason, among others.

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Evangeline Lilly made her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the 2015 film Ant-Man, in which she played the role of Hope van Dyne / Wasp. In 2018, she reprised her role as Van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp. She later appeared in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame. She again appeared in the 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.