Considering Janet Van Dyne was a founding member of the Avengers, lots of Marvel fans wondered why it took them so long to bring the character to the big screen. Well, it looks like they'll be making up for lost time in Ant-Man and the Wasp and the upcoming fourth Avengers film by giving Evangeline Lilly's Hope a lot to do.
Director Peyton Reed has previously said Paul Rudd's Scott Lange and Lilly's Hope Van Dyne would be partners in the sequel film. He also spoke of how excited he was to show off her character saying in part:
To show her finally fully formed in this movie is really exciting. We really get to introduce this character into that universe. I mean we”ve introduced the character, but we haven”t seen her with her full power set and everything, so to me she”s not a supporting character in this movie. It”s every bit as much her movie as it is Scott Lang”s.
You may recall Ant-Man and the Wasp opens July 6, 2018 and is placed directly between the next two Avengers films – Avengers: Infinity War and the fourth untitled Avengers movie. So what does that mean for Lilly's character development? Speaking with Blastr at New York Comic Con Lilly updated them, as much as she was able, on the status of the project:
An initial script has been created but it has not been approved by the higher powers that be, by the Feiges. I haven't seen it yet, I haven't actually seen the script. I have talked to Peyton about where they're headed and what they want to focus on. I'm excited because it's essentially going to be the origin of The Wasp of course. We're going to see The Wasp for the first time take on the mantle, and put on the suit, and fly about, and do her thing.
So if that's her origin story…”The Wasp won't be in the [next Avengers],” said Lilly, “she'll be in the second part because they really want to preserve that reveal for Ant-Man and The Wasp. So that they can give it its due time.”