Evangeline Lilly Blasts Disney Over Massive Marvel Studios Layoffs in Scathing Message

Well, here we go again: Disney's found itself in the crosshairs, and this time the Marvel creative team is squarely caught in the crossfire. In a move that sounds like it was engineered for maximum bad press, Disney axed around 1,000 artists—including a significant chunk of the Marvel visual development team—right as they were about to crow about the MCU's $33 billion haul at CinemaCon. Whoever scheduled that deserves some kind of award (just probably not in 'timing').

Disney Lays Off Marvel Visual Artists—Nobody's Happy About It

So, let's get clear on what actually happened: the very group responsible for imagining and designing the look of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got their walking papers. No subtle reductions, no slow wind-down—just, 'Thanks for the billions, now don't let the portal hit you on the way out.' That's the Marvel visual development team, the people who shaped everything from Iron Man 2 onwards.

And if you think fans and fellow creatives are furious, you'd be right. Evangeline Lilly (you know her as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp from Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame) went off on Instagram, calling the whole situation 'disgusting.' She specifically name-dropped Andy Park, a Marvel concept artist who'd been with the studio practically since it became the MCU, confirming with him that, yes, he was part of the mass layoff.

Evangeline Lilly Lights Up Disney on Social Media

Lilly didn't mince words in her rant—she flat-out called out Disney for 'turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away.' She also questioned why executives seem so eager to rely on AI to generate art, instead of, you know, the 'humans who invented these characters in the first place.'

'I can't quite believe that. That Disney have let go of the artists who brought the current Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius. That the people who invented these characters in the first place, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI. AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created, and use it to create iterations of that. I am so sorry Andy, and I am so sorry to every single one of the artists who were let go in the 1000 artists that Disney fired, and particularly the entire team at Marvel who have been considered obsolete now after building the Marvel empire.'

Basically, she sees Disney swapping out real artists for algorithm-generated replacements, and she's not alone in being outraged. Lilly didn't just point fingers at Disney—she dragged in lawmakers for not doing more to stop human art from being hoovered up by AIs, asking why it's OK for big companies to profit off artists' work, while the actual artists are left out in the cold.

AI at Marvel: Rumor, Reality, and What’s Next

Is Disney officially replacing artists with AI? No official announcement yet. But here's where things get weird: Marvel already got some flak for using AI in the opening credits for 'Secret Invasion' (which fans were not thrilled about). Meanwhile, Disney was reportedly about to pour a billion dollars into OpenAI—until OpenAI nixed its Sora generative video tool. All in all, it definitely looks like the House of Mouse is more than just curious about AI-generated art.

Lilly’s Goodbye to The Marvel Team

Lilly wrapped up her epic video by asking Marvel fans to take a second and appreciate the actual humans who built the characters and worlds everyone loves—before some faceless AI does it in their place.

'If you are a huge fan of Marvel, just take a moment today to think about them, to send out a prayer for them, to honor them. To honor the people that created the world that you fell in love with. That was a human invention. These were human creations, and they shouldn’t be stolen by tech giants so that their robots can replicate them. I think it’s disgusting and horrible, and I stand with all the artists and Andy [Park]. I'm so sorry, and I love you guys.'

The Trend: Marvel Stars vs. Disney

• Evangeline Lilly isn't alone—Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk) recently told everyone to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions over another Disney controversy (pulling 'Kimmel Live!' off air after an FCC threat).
• There's no sign that Disney or Marvel want these two stars back anytime soon. And in Lilly's case, after making her feelings clear, it's probably mutual.

Where's Lilly Now?

Don't expect Lilly popping up in any new Marvel movies. She officially stepped away from acting in 2024 to focus on her family, and then things got even rougher: in May 2025, she fainted, took a nasty fall onto a boulder, and ended up with serious facial and head injuries. She later revealed she suffered brain damage. There was some wishful thinking she might do a cameo in 'Avengers: Doomsday,' but after all this, it seems pretty unlikely we'll see her back in the MCU.

So yeah—between layoffs, AI drama, and ex-Avengers dropping bombs on Instagram, things at the Disney/Marvel machine are far from quiet these days. If you're hoping the MCU gets back to its creative roots, it's starting to look like it will take more than a reboot.