"Gonna die first in Avengers 5": Evangeline Lilly vaccine controversy explained as actress reveals Marvel support

Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly revealed that Marvel supported her decision after she was slammed for participating in anti-vaccination protests.

While appearing on an episode of Happy, Sad, Confused podcast on February 16, 2023, the 43-year-old star was discussing her latest film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, when the discourse shifted to her stance against the Covid-19 vaccine in Canada.

Speaking with host Josh Horowitz, Lilly revealed that Marvel and Disney told her they would support her despite her views:

"I’ve had direct conversations with them that I have instigated, and they’ve always said, 'That’s not our business. That’s not for us to tell you how to live your life or what opinions to have.'"

Evangeline Lilly's comments come after she revealed that she took part in rallies against Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Several social media users assumed that the studio might take strict action against her just like other actors have suffered. Twitter user @D4hz4hn wrote:

"She gonna die first in avengers 5"

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Evangeline Lilly has been anti-Covid-19 vaccine from the beginning

Evangeline Lilly has frequently been in the headlines for her anti-Covid-19 stance. In March 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Lost actress shared a post on her Instagram handle with a picture of her morning tea. Alongside, she wrote that she dropped her kids off at a gymnastics camp, and they all washed their hands before going in and playing.

After being slammed online by actress Sophie Turner among many others, she issued an apology for her actions two weeks later via another post:

“I didn’t expect anyone to pay attention to it, because no one ever pays attention to what I post. I ended up having enough people say to me, ‘Well, there’s a lot of people who are dying right now, and it might have been really insensitive to what they’re going through,’ and that resonated for me.”

On January 27, 2022, she shared a lengthy Instagram post about attending an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, D.C., because she supports “bodily sovereignty.” Lilly pointed out several reasons why someone who does not comply with vaccine and social distancing rules should not be discriminated against:

"This is not the way. This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don’t believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems."

For her actions, she was slammed by several Marvel stars. However, in response, Lilly asked Trudeau to meet with anti-vaccine protestors in Ottawa, Canada.

In an interview with Esquire, which was published on February 18, Lilly revealed the reason behind sharing her post on Instagram. She said:

“I just wanted people out there who were struggling because they were under severe pressure to do something they didn’t want to do to know that they weren’t alone, to know that there were people who actually felt they had a right to say no.”

While appearing on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Evangeline Lilly shared that Ant-Man director Peyton Reed extended his support to Evangeline Lilly amidst her online bashing.

“I actually even got a really supportive phone call from Peyton Reed at one point just saying, ‘Just so you know, there’s some rumors spreading about Marvel ditching you or canceling you, and that didn’t come from Marvel, and that didn’t come from us. So just ignore that.'”

As of writing, Marvel Studios have not commented on Evangeline Lilly's revelation of their support of her decision and actions.