What That ANT-MAN Credits Scene Means for Evangeline Lilly and the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Ever since Nick Fury chatted up Tony Stark during the Iron Man end credits, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been known for its stingers. The past few movies in the megafranchise have boasted credits scenes that are fun — Howard the Duck, Thanos putting on an empty gauntlet — but they haven't advanced the Marvel Cinematic Universe like that original Iron Man scene.

Ant-Man changed that with its credits scenes. (SPOILERS AHEAD.) Sure, there was the big one that teased what's to come in Captain America: Civil War, but we're going to talk about the mid-credits scene featuring Evangeline Lilly's Hope Van Dyne.

After fighting for a shot to don the Ant-Man suit the entire movie, Hope got what she wanted when her father, Hank Pym, unveiled a new Wasp suit that he began building with his deceased/missing wife. The movie was over, but the age of the Wasp had kicked of for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So when will we see Lilly fighting alongside the Avengers as the Wasp? Marvel Studios already announced Captain America: Civil War's massive cast, but Lilly's name wasn't in that list. (Paul Rudd will be back as Ant-Man in that movie though.) Putting aside a role in another superhero's standalone movie, Avengers: Infinity War — Part I is the most likely opportunity for Marvel to give Lilly the chance to bring the Wasp to the big screen. Between the first Avengers: Infinity War in May 2018 and the second part in May 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to go through a lot of superheroes.

Could the Wasp get her own movie? For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the schedule is pretty packed between now and July 2019. There are ten films planned for Phase Three, with the Spider-Man reboot actually reshuffling things when it was announced. There's precedent for Marvel Studios to move things around to make room for an additional movie. In fact, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has actually addressed this before, saying his studio is in the rare position of having more successful franchises than there's space on the calendar.

"We obviously have to see how Ant-Man is received by audiences," Ant-Man director Peyton Reed told Buzzfeed. "If we're fortunate enough to do a sequel to Ant-Man, it's safe to say that Wasp would be a very big part of that story."

A $57.2 million opening weekend and a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes should tell Reed and Marvel Studios that audiences were big fans of Ant-Man and want to see Lilly take flight as the Wasp. If that means squeezing one more movie into Phase Three — whether it's an Ant-Man sequel that heavily features the character or a Wasp standalone movie — fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe probably won't mind.