'Shame on you': Evangeline Lilly slams Disney for Marvel layoffs
What's the story
Evangeline Lilly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) actor who plays Hope van Dyne/Wasp, has slammed Disney for its recent layoffs at Marvel. The job cuts were part of a larger cost-cutting strategy by The Walt Disney Company, affecting up to 1,000 employees across various departments, including Visual Development, finance, legal, and comics. In a video message on Instagram, Lilly expressed her dismay over the layoffs and accused Disney of abandoning those who built Marvel from scratch.
Details
'Disney has let go of the artists who brought...'
In her post, Lilly said she spoke to Andy Park, who created the original Wasp super-suit and concept drawings. "I can't quite believe that...that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life through their genius and that the people who invented these characters and who designed them are being replaced by AI," she said in a video message.
Laws
'Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art...'
In her post's caption, Lilly wrote: "Disney, SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away." The Ant-Man actor questioned, "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??"
Background
Visual development artist Park announced his layoff
Park, who was with Marvel for 16 years, announced his layoff on April 20. He wrote on social media that he was proud of the history he made with the team. Despite the layoffs, sources told Variety that Marvel plans to keep a small visual development team and will continue working with visual development artists on its projects. Lilly has been in MCU's Ant-Man films and Avengers: Endgame.