Actor Evangeline Lilly has publicly expressed strong criticism following recent layoffs at Disney, which affected multiple staff members across Marvel Studios, including veteran visual development artist Andy Park.
In a memo issued on April 14, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro informed employees of company-wide job reductions. A source familiar with the situation told The Hollywood Reporter that approximately 1,000 positions were eliminated. Among those impacted were members of Marvel Studios’ visual development division, including Andy Park, a 16-year veteran widely recognized for his contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a Wednesday Instagram video, Lilly said she personally reached out after hearing about the layoffs and received confirmation directly from Park. She stated:
“I reached out to my good friend Andy Park, who was the genius behind creating the original Wasp super-suit and the original Wasp concept drawings for the film Ant-Man and the Wasp, and just said, ‘Is this true? Is this really what’s happening?’” she said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s true. I have been let go.’ And I can’t quite believe that, that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius.”
Park’s tenure at Marvel spanned nearly two decades, beginning with projects such as Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor in 2011. He later contributed to nearly every major MCU installment, including Avengers: Endgame, as well as work connected to upcoming franchise entries like Avengers: Doomsday.
Lilly also raised concerns about the direction of the industry, particularly the potential role of artificial intelligence in creative design work. She said she was unsettled by what she described as a shift away from human creators, stating that artists who originally designed iconic characters were being replaced. She added:
“that the people who invented these characters, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI.”
She further elaborated on her concern regarding how creative work might be reused, saying:
“AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that,”
The Hollywood Reporter noted that it had contacted Marvel Studios for comment, though no response had been received at the time of publication.
In her Instagram caption, Lilly directly addressed Disney, writing:
“SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away.”
She also questioned broader legal and ethical issues surrounding AI and creative ownership, adding:
“Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!? Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry?? Disgusting,” she wrote. “California lawmakers…where are you?!?!?”
Lilly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2015 as Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, debuting in Ant-Man. She later reprised the role in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and Avengers: Endgame.
In 2024, Lilly announced via social media that she was stepping away from acting. She is not listed among the cast of the upcoming MCU installment Avengers: Doomsday, although her former co-stars Paul Rudd and Kathryn Newton are expected to appear.
