With the release in 2018 of "Ant-Man and the Wasp," Evangeline Lilly's Hope Van Dyne will become the first female character to headline a Marvel Studios film. However, she won't simply share the title with Paul Rudd's Scott Lang; according to director Peyton Reed, she'll step fully into the spotlight.

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"It's something we're excited about," he told Collider. "For me as a comic nerd, I always thought of Ant-Man and Wasp as a team and that's a lot of what the second movie is really about is how they work together, what their personal and professional relationships are like. To show her finally fully formed in this movie is really exciting. We really get to introduce this character into that universe. I mean we've introduced the character, but we haven't seen her with her full power set and everything, so to me she's not a supporting character in this movie. It's every bit as much her movie as it is Scott Lang's."

The sequel is 2014's "Ant-Man" is targeted to begin production in June, presumably sharing space at Pinewood Atlanta Studios with "Avengers: Infinity War" and its untitled sequel. Rudd's Scott Lang plays a role in the first film, which assembles most of the heroes of Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Lilly's Wasp is expected to join in for its 2019 follow-up.

Opening July 6, 2018, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" stars Paul Rudd, Evanegline Lilly, Michael Peña and Michael Douglas.