Marvel Actress Evangeline Lilly Leaves Hollywood: ‘Praise God’
By Movieguide® Contributor
THE HOBBIT and MARVEL actress Evangeline Lilly is finally getting her wish — she’s saying goodbye to Hollywood.
“I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision. Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings,” she said on Instagram on June 3.
“Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment. I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong. A new season has arrived, and I AM READY… and I AM HAPPY,” she said.
The actress shared a video of herself from 20 years ago. The then 24-year-old answered the question, “Where would you like to be ten years from now?”
“Ten years from now, where would I like to be? I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world, but ideally, 10 years from now I’d like to be a retired actress,” she said. “I would like to have a family, and I’d like to be writing and potentially, um, you know, maybe influencing people’s lives in more humanitarian way as almost everybody in the world now knows was my intention before I started the show.”
Lilly followed the video with a clip of Maya Angelou.
“…I know that we’re all in process, and as nice as this seat is and this room is and how nice it is to be with you and have some relatives in the background, respectful and gracious directors and producers and floor managers around – this too will change,” Angelou said. “This will change. I know it. This cannot remain the same.”
“I know that I did not come here to stay. I didn’t come to this earth to stay anymore than I came to London to stay,” she said. “I’m in process. So, I do the best I can all the time, and I say bye. I may weep and gnash my teeth and wring my hands, but I’m gone.”
Deadline added, “Lilly commented that Angelou ‘perfectly’ expressed how she feels about life.”
Lilly rose to fame on LOST, where she stayed for all six seasons. After the show ended, she thought about leaving Hollywood. However, director Peter Jackson stepped in and asked her to play Tauriel in THE HOBBIT.
“I made a decision and I decided to go do the film. I had a wonderful time making that movie: One of the highlights in my life was living in New Zealand for that year and being a part of that family,” the ANT-MAN star told The Hollywood Reporter.
“That helped, opened my eyes to the fact that, OK, this job can be a joy, it’s just a matter of how you approach it, and what you do with it, how much I put myself out there, and to a certain degree, how much I work.”
Lilly’s likely departure as Hope (Wasp) in the Marvel franchise may concern some fans. And it may not be crucial for Wasp to be played by Lilly in future movies.
“Avengers 5 & 6 will be multiversal events that will most likely bring back Marvel heroes from old and new generations, and Wasp is still an essential team member,” Screen Rant said. “Hope is a powerful and useful ally, especially since she’s already encountered Kang if he is the villain.”
“SECRET WARS is another excellent opportunity for Hope to return as it will bring in variants of characters from other universes. This way, Marvel can utilize Wasp in the film without needing Lilly, as Wasp could look like someone else or even be a different gender,” Screen Rant added.
Movieguide® previously reported on Lilly:
Over a month since actor Jeremy Renner was hospitalized after a horrific snowplow accident, Marvel co-star Evangeline Lilly said she was surprised at how fast he was recovering after serious injury.
“I walked in his house and got chicken skin because I was like, ‘Why are you mobile? Why are you mobile? What’s happening?’” she told ACCESS HOLLYWOOD.
“I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasn’t able to move. He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends,” the ANT-MAN AND THE WASP star added. “It’s a miracle. It’s a straight up miracle. He’s made of something really tough that guy. You’ve always been able to see that in him and he is recovering incredibly.”
