Evangeline Lilly made her MCU debut in 2015's Ant-Man. The Lost star portrayed Hope Van Dyne, estranged daughter of Hank Pym. After training Paul Rudd's Scott Lang for his first adventure, she finally suited up as the Wasp in the appropriately titled Ant-Man and the Wasp. She then returned to the MCU for the climactic battle in Avengers: Endgame, before taking center stage once again in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
In 2024, the actress revealed she would take a break from acting. This was a notable development for the MCU. With Doomsday and Secret Wars expected to bring almost all corners of the MCU together, the absence of Lilly's Wasp would be significant, particularly with Paul Rudd being one of Doomsday's main stars. Still, the actress left the door open for the future, stating she could return to acting at any point.
Now, something curious has happened. The actress took to Instagram to randomly praise Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
In the video, Lilly says, "Hey, big guy, sun's going down," paraphrasing Black Widow's lullaby line for the Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The post was captioned with: "I rewatched [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] last night with my son. One of Marvel's finest." She also included the hashtags #captainamerica, #blackwidow, #hulk, #marvel and #wintersoldier.
She then interacted with fans in the comments, where she specifically praised Winter Soldier's elevator fight sequence, stating: "The elevator scene, though." In another response, the actress revealed her favorite MCU film was Peyton Reed's Ant-Man: "[Ant-Man] is still my fav."
Now, as over-analyzing geeks looking for clues toward the next big event in the MCU, you know what we have to do: It's speculation time. First, let's state the obvious -- this could be a simple instance of the actress sharing a fun movie-watching experience with her son. With that said, the timing of it could be considered suspicious. Avengers: Doomsday is in line for reshoots, with Secret Wars gearing up to start filming in the summer of 2026.
Pretty much every past MCU cast member has been, at some point, rumored to appear in the upcoming blockbusters, so it's not unreasonable to assume that Lilly may be using her post as a tease for her return to the franchise. Though this may sound far-fetched, the actress has actually already teased her MCU comeback on Instagram. Back in May 2025, the actress shared a secret project she was working on (unrelated to Marvel Studios).
In the comments, a fan asked her the following: "Hope you don't mind my asking but, is there a chance we'll see you in either of the upcoming Avengers movies? Lily replied simply with a winking-face emoji.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in 2014. 11 years ago and counting. Yes, it's one of Marvel Studios' most beloved projects, but randomly posting about it, while being a major player in that same franchise might be a sign that something is brewing for the shrinking superhero. Admittedly, those details could ultimately amount to nothing. Yet, given her previous MCU tease, it wouldn't be surprising if this latest post was meant as a fun nod to her potential return as Wasp.
At the time she announced her retirement from acting, Lilly told Variety:
"I have actually been on a hiatus from acting for the past three years already (since finishing work on Quantumania). This time outside of the business has brought me a grounding sense of fulfillment and joy. I could return tomorrow, two years from now or never, but at the moment I am not actively pursuing any work in the industry and am not under any contractual obligations to anybody. I am devoting my time to my humanitarian work and my writing."
Avengers: Doomsday is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.