Ant-Man and the Wasp star Evangeline Lilly has begun 2026 by giving fans a sad update about her health. Lilly stars as Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in films such as Avengers: Endgame, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Lilly broke out with her role as Kate Austen on the hit series Lost and later appeared in films like The Hurt Locker, Real Steel, and played the elf Taurel in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.
In May 2025, Lilly was reported to have passed out and fell on a boulder, resulting in facial injuries. On Jan. 2, 2026, Lilly took to Instagram to reveal that the fall resulted in every area of her brain “functioning at a decreased capacity” and that she does have “brain damage” from the injury. Lilly said she is focused on recovery, which will be a difficult task. You can read her full statement and watch the video below:
“I’m entering into this new year, the Year of the Horse, with some bad news about my concussion. A lot of you asked how I’m doing. The results came back from the scans, and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity. So I do have brain damage from the TBI and possibly other factors going on. But now, my job is to get to the bottom of that with doctors and embark on the hard work of fixing it. Which, I’m not looking forward to because I feel like hard work is all I do. But that’s OK. My cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down and helped me to have a more restful finish to my 2025.”
Evangeline Lilly Is Taking Time to Recover
In June 2024, Lilly announced she was stepping away from acting to focus on her family. She had left the door open to return to acting one day, with many fans hoping she would reprise her role as Hope van Dyne in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Lilly was not part of the March 2025 cast chair reveal, though her Ant-Man co-star Paul Rudd was. Given that Ant-Man and Wasp are typically a team, her exclusion was notable but not shocking given her decision to step away from acting.
With Lilly’s health update, it might not be possible for her to return for Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, though a small cameo remains possible. Lilly’s last on-screen acting credit before retiring was 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Lilly also took part in the documentary Getting Lost, about the impact of the series Lost, which debuted in 2024 following her retirement.
When Lilly collapsed in May 2025 at the beach, she explained that she had frequent fainting spells since she was a child. When she was young, the doctors ruled out epilepsy and diagnosed her with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). However, Lilly said the doctors ruled out her fainting in May due to hypoglycemia. On her Substack, Lilly said she thinks her blackout might have been tied to emotional stress. The cause is still undetermined, but the damage is now concerning, and her fans are hoping for a speedy recovery. Lilly’s MCU co-star Michelle Phieffer, who plays Janet Van Dyne and the mother of Lilly’s character Hope, wrote on Lilly’s post, “You are a warrior. Nothing – not even this – will defeat you, my friend.”
Release Date
July 6, 2018
Runtime
119 Minutes
Director
Peyton Reed
