Having been in Hollywood since the 2000s, it makes sense that Evangeline Lilly has done quite well for herself. The actress is known for her exceptional work on Lost and even in the Hobbit franchise on the big screen, and at this point, she has nothing left to prove. Instead of resting on her laurels, she is still making moves.
Lilly has been playing the Wasp in the MCU for several years now, and the character is set to become even bigger and better than before. Her bright future has fans wondering how much she was paid to play the character.
Let's take a look at Evangeline Lilly's Ant-Man salary.
Evangeline Lilly Has Done Well For Herself Financially
Before taking a look at Evangeline Lilly’s pay for Ant-Man, it’s really important to take a look at her career prior to the film’s release for a little bit of context. Instead of being a relative unknown who was coming into the franchise looking to become a star, Lilly had already become a successful performer thanks to her time on both the big and small screen.
On the small screen, Lilly initially rose to fame on the series Lost, which was a mega hit during its peak years on television. The actress was a relative unknown at that time, but once Lost took off with mainstream audiences, she was a household name who millions grew familiar with. Thanks to this, she started to make some serious money. According to Cheat Sheet, Lilly was pocketing $150,000 per episode on the series.
In the world of film, Evangeline Lilly was doing quite well once Lost came to an end. The Hobbit franchise certainly took come liberties when it came to the story it told, one of which was adding some new characters. Lilly’s Tauriel may not have been in the book, but she was cast as the character and wound up having a major arc in the franchise. This provided a boost to her career and showed that she could do film work, as well.
Eventually, the actress made her way into the MCU, but she wasn’t exactly cashing in from the jump.
She Made Less Than $300,000 For ‘Ant-Man’
Back in 2015, Ant-Man made its big screen debut, and it served as an interesting entry into the MCU. The character has been around for ages, but he was never a huge player in the comics. Despite this, Marvel still went ahead with an entire film starring the character, and this wound up being a solid choice.
Paul Rudd made $300,000 for his first portrayal as Ant-Man, which is a decent salary that will continue to rise. However, because she was co-starring in the film, Lilly didn’t even make that much. Her salary isn’t known at this time, but we do know that she wasn’t paid the same as Rudd was for the film.
Exact numbers for Ant-Man and the Wasp are also unknown at this time, but the film did mark the first time that a female character was getting billing in an MCU title. There is certainly hope that Lilly got a boost in pay for her performance in the sequel, but that remains to be seen.
One thing we do know, however, is that things are changing in the near future for the actress.
She Will Get Equal Pay For ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’
According to reports, Evangeline Lilly will be getting equal pay for the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This is a step in the right direction, as the gender pay gap in Hollywood has been the subject of much discussion for years now. Lilly plays a major hero, and she will start getting paid like one.
According to director Peyton Reed, "They’re a partnership, and she’s a very, very important part of that."
"And that was a very gratifying thing, I guess technically we were the first Marvel movie with a female hero in the title of the movie. Finding that balance in that movie, that’s very important to me because that’s very much a men’s playing field, historically. But that’s really, really changing now in a great way," he continued.
Down the road, exact salaries could be revealed, but the number is not known at this time. The third Ant-Man movie is finally making things right for Lilly in the salary department, and it’s about time she starts getting fair compensation. The film is going to play a major part in the MCU’s future, and Lilly will be getting the chance to shine in the franchise once again.