SPOILER WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp. Proceed at your own risk.
Evangeline Lilly has come a long way since her days playing Kate Austen on groundbreaking television series Lost. Though running from smoke monsters and navigating the terrain of a strange island might no longer be in her repertoire, Lilly continues to demonstrate her acting chops in blockbusters such as The Hobbit trilogy and more recently, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Not only was Lost Lilly’s first serious acting gig, but the hit show also became a cultural phenomenon around the globe. A main character for the entire duration of the six-season series, Kate Austen evolved from a selfish, unsatisfied woman to a caring and responsible human being. Plunged into crazy scenarios both on the island and off, Kate dealt with everything from time travel to crying babies.
Flash forward to today when many may know Evangeline Lilly better as the Wasp in Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man films. Sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp brings Lilly’s character, Hope van Dyne, to the forefront of the film. Not only does the character share double-billing with her land-based insect equivalent, she also gets her fair share of action sequences and character development. So how exactly did Lilly’s role in Lost prepare her for superhero stardom? We chart her journey below.
A Tale of Two Characters
Running from the law is no foreign concept for Evangeline Lilly. After all, Kate was a fugitive on Lost, constantly changing her appearance and disguising herself to avoid going to prison for killing her father. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Lilly finds herself in this same position with Hope and her father, Hank. Changing her hair from short to long and even wearing a hat-and-sunglasses disguise, Hope and Hank spend quite a bit of time hiding and running from law enforcement in the film.
At one point in the movie, Hope and her father are finally caught, placed in handcuffs and brought to the police station. Interestingly enough, Hope manages to engineer an escape using the handy hair clip she’s hidden in her mouth. Lost‘s Kate also has experience picking locks and breaking out of handcuffs. In fact, if we were to add up all the times that Kate was in handcuffs or held captive in Lost, we’d still be totting up into next week.
In addition to going on the lam in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hope finds herself being chased by Sonny Burch, a character trying to steal one of Hope and Hank’s high-tech gadgets in order to sell it to the highest bidder. Of course, chases don’t just occur on foot, but on the road as well. When it comes to car chases — and crashes — Evangeline Lilly also has lots of experience from her time as Kate on Lost. The car stunts in Ant-Man and the Wasp just keep on coming, and usually have Lilly behind the wheel, planning her escape and avoiding those out to get her.
A Mother’s Love
Like the majority of characters on Lost, Kate had a strained relationship with her parents, especially her mother. After taking years of abuse from her father, as well as watching him abuse her mom, Kate finally had enough. In order to protect them both, Kate murdered her father. Afterwards, Kate’s mom condemned Kate for her decision and turned her into the cops, forever damaging their bond.
Viewers saw just how despicable Kate’s mom was through flashbacks. Interestingly, Ant-Man and the Wasp began with a flashback of Hope and mom Janet (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). Although they spend the majority of the film apart, seeing the reunion of Hope and Janet is a breath of fresh air for Lost fans who were never able to see Kate have a pleasant interaction with her mother.
On Lost, Kate continued to hold out hope for reconciliation with her mom, even after countless years — not unlike how Hope believed that her mom could be saved from the Quantum Void in Ant-Man and the Wasp. With the reunion of Hope and Janet at the end of the film, Lilly let out emotions that have been building within Hope for years — undoubtedly informed by Lilly’s previous role — culminating in a heartfelt reunion between mother and daughter.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is out now in the US and Australia and hits screens in the UK on August 3.
