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The third film in the Ant-Man franchise, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania, now playing in theaters everywhere. Even though the movie features the smallest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (subatomic size, to be exact), it’s a pretty big deal as it marks the official launch of Phase 5 of the MCU. Ever since the film was announced, social media has been flooded with trailers, promos, cast interviews, cover profiles, sneak peeks and more. But you know what’s missing? Continued criticism of lead actress Evangeline Lilly’s anti-vaccine mandate views — especially after the continued attention Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress Letitia Wright received far less. What gives?
Wright’s troubles began in June 2022, when black Panther continuation Wakanda forever first began production in Atlanta, Georgia. Public sentiment for the actress, who along with her co-stars was still reeling from the death of legendary franchise star Chadwick Boseman, was high. But in December 2020, Wright came under fire for tweeting and then immediately deleting a video skeptical of the ingredients of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“if you don’t go along with popular opinion and ask questions and think for yourself… you will be undone,” she wrote at the time, adding, “my intention was not to hurt anyone, my ONLY intention in posting the video was that it raised concerns me about what is in the vaccine and what we are putting into our bodies. Nothing else.”
And when The Hollywood Reporter published an article alleging that Wright shared anti-vaccination views while on set Wakanda foreverrumors that Wright’s potential anti-vax beliefs could delay the film further sent the controversy into a tailspin.
Wright (and her PR team) have successfully avoided commenting on Wright’s actual vaccination status. And the British actress has since apologized for the tweet, even going so far as to delete her Twitter account following the backlash. But in November 2022, another one Hollywood Reporter article named Wright alongside Brad Pitt and Will Smith in a column discussing how public allegations can derail actors’ chances for Oscar nominations. Wright called the article “nasty” and a personal vendetta against her. (THR later changed the image accompanying the piece of the three actors to a photo of the Hollywood sign.)
“How dare you,” she said on Instagram. “You mentioned my name along with men who have been accused of abuse and sexual misconduct. This is mean behavior. Stop your bullshit. I apologized TWO years ago.”
While Wright hasn’t been able to escape her controversial comments about COVID-19 vaccines, fellow Marvel actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays the Wasp in Ant-Man movies, hasn’t received nearly the same energy. Despite apologizing for initial posts in early 2020 in which she said she would not self-isolate, Lilly continues to run her mouth about vaccine mandates at every turn possible.
In January 2022, Lily doubled down by attending an anti-vaccination march in Washington, DC, led by anti-vax conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy. Yes, the same rally where Kennedy compared vaccine passports to slavery and the Holocaust, saying, “Even in Hitler’s Germany you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”
To make matters worse, Lily bragged about the march on her Instagram, calling it a rally in support of “body sovereignty” (a common anti-vax line). Still, the actress is enjoying months Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania The press tour is relatively free of any questions or genuine criticism about missteps.
This isn’t the first time a superhero franchise has had to deal with the consequences of its actors’ off-screen behavior. Zachary Levi, star of Shazam! movies, recently received quite a bit of backlash online for appearing on a podcast with (and praising) men’s rights activist Jordan Peterson while tweeting comments that many interpreted as anti-vax. And Warner Bros., the studio that distributes the DC Extended Universe movies, has been constantly criticized for its stubborn determination to finance Ezra Miller’s reign of terror. I mean, how many times can Miller get arrested before Warner Bros./DC stop letting them be in movies? But Marvel doesn’t boast an unblemished record — making the complete refusal to hold Lilly accountable highlights a glaring double standard.
The answer to why Wright was treated differently than Lily is obvious: racism. But there is still much to learn from the continued hypocrisy. It was never wrong to criticize Wright’s public comments on social media about vaccines. Platform actors wield considerable power, and it is important to challenge harmful misinformation that can harm others. But the fact that Wright’s comments continue to follow her long after her apology, while Lily stands by her statements and continues to star in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year without even the slightest prompting, should make us reconsider who — and why — we let some things slide. The superhero movie industrial complex has proven that once the actors make them money, the studios will own up to their mistakes. But viewers don’t have to do that work for them.
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