Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress who became internationally recognized for her role as Kate Austen in the hit television series Lost. After establishing herself on television, she moved into feature films with appearances in projects ranging from horror and comedy to war drama, fantasy adventure, and superhero cinema. Her early movie roles included small uncredited appearances before she earned more substantial parts in The Long Weekend, The Hurt Locker, and Afterwards. Lilly later became especially well known for playing Tauriel in The Hobbit trilogy and Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her film career has combined major franchise productions with smaller genre films and dramatic projects. This complete guide to Evangeline Lilly movies by year covers her officially released feature-film appearances chronologically, including uncredited and voice roles where relevant.
2003 — The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie was released in 2003 as a Disney teen comedy directed by Jim Fall and starring Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Robert Carradine, and Hallie Todd. Evangeline Lilly appears briefly as an uncredited police officer, making this one of her earliest theatrical movie appearances. The film follows Lizzie McGuire during a school trip to Rome, where she is mistaken for an Italian pop star and becomes involved in an unexpected adventure. Although Lilly’s part is extremely small, the movie is notable as an early entry in her screen career before Lost made her widely known.
2003 — Freddy vs. Jason
Later in 2003, Lilly appeared in Freddy vs. Jason, Ronny Yu’s horror crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises. She is credited as an uncredited school student next to a locker, giving her only a brief background appearance rather than a conventional supporting role. The slasher film brings Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees together in a battle between two of horror cinema’s most recognizable villains. Despite Lilly’s minor involvement, Freddy vs. Jason is part of her early feature-film history and is worth including in a complete chronological filmography.
Non-feature-film note: Lilly also appeared in the 2003 television film Stealing Sinatra as a model in a commercial. Because it was a television production rather than a standard theatrical feature, it is not counted as one of the main feature films below.
2004 — White Chicks
White Chicks arrived in 2004 as a buddy-cop comedy directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and starring Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Lilly makes a brief uncredited appearance as a party guest, one of several background roles she took during the earliest stage of her acting career. The movie centers on two FBI agents who go undercover by disguising themselves as wealthy socialites, leading to a series of comic complications. Lilly’s appearance is minor, but White Chicks remains an officially released feature in her early film credits.
2005 — The Long Weekend
In 2005, Lilly had a more recognizable supporting role in The Long Weekend, a Canadian sex comedy directed by Pat Holden. She plays Simone, appearing alongside Chris Klein, Brendan Fehr, and Chandra West in a story about two brothers whose very different personalities create a chaotic weekend. The film focuses on Ed Waxman and his more carefree brother Cooper as they navigate relationships, career problems, and romantic misadventures. The Long Weekend was an important early step for Lilly because it gave her a credited character role rather than another brief uncredited appearance.
2008 — The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker was released in 2008 and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, with Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, and Lilly among the principal cast. Lilly plays Connie James, the wife of Staff Sergeant William James, in the critically acclaimed war drama about an American bomb-disposal unit operating in Iraq. The film combines intense combat sequences with a character-driven examination of the psychological pressures faced by soldiers in a dangerous environment. It became one of the most acclaimed films of its year and ultimately won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, making it one of the most notable movies in Lilly’s early career.
2008 — Afterwards
Also in 2008, Lilly starred in Afterwards, a psychological thriller directed by Gilles Bourdos and based on Guillaume Musso’s novel Et après…. She plays Claire, the recently divorced wife and childhood sweetheart of Nathan Del Amico, portrayed by Romain Duris. John Malkovich co-stars as a mysterious doctor who claims to recognize people who are approaching death, drawing Nathan into an increasingly unsettling situation. The film gave Lilly a significantly larger dramatic role and demonstrated her ability to move beyond the television success of Lost into serious feature-film work.
2011 — Real Steel
In 2011, Lilly appeared in Real Steel, Shawn Levy’s science-fiction sports drama starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo. She plays Bailey Tallet, a former boxer and technical expert who helps Charlie Kenton rebuild and train the fighting robot Atom. Set in a future where robotic boxing has replaced traditional human competition, the film combines family drama with action and futuristic sports entertainment. Lilly’s role was substantially larger than many of her earlier movie appearances and helped establish her as a dependable supporting performer in major studio productions.
2013 — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lilly entered Middle-earth in 2013 with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, directed by Peter Jackson. She plays Tauriel, an elven warrior and captain of the Woodland Realm’s guards, alongside Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, and Lee Pace. Tauriel was created specifically for the film trilogy rather than being a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original The Hobbit novel, and she becomes involved in the growing conflict surrounding the dwarves and the dragon Smaug. The film marked Lilly’s arrival in another major fantasy franchise and introduced one of her most recognizable characters outside the MCU.
2014 — The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Lilly returned as Tauriel in 2014 for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the final installment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. The epic fantasy adventure features Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, and Lilly in an ensemble centered on the battle that follows the events at the Lonely Mountain. Tauriel’s storyline continues as she becomes personally involved in the fate of Kíli and the larger struggle between the different forces converging on Erebor. The film was a major worldwide release and concluded Lilly’s two-film appearance as Tauriel in the trilogy.
2015 — Ant-Man
In 2015, Lilly made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed and starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, and Michael Peña. She plays Hope van Dyne, the highly capable daughter of Hank Pym who becomes an important ally to Scott Lang while the new Ant-Man is being trained. The superhero action comedy follows Lang as he learns to use Pym’s shrinking technology and attempts a high-stakes heist to protect the Ant-Man suit. Lilly’s Hope was notable for being more than a traditional superhero love interest, establishing the character as an intelligent and capable fighter whose own superhero identity would later become central to the franchise.
2017 — Little Evil
Lilly took a very different direction in 2017 with Little Evil, a supernatural horror comedy written and directed by Eli Craig. She stars as Samantha Bloom, the mother of a young boy whom her new husband Gary, played by Adam Scott, begins to suspect could be the Antichrist. The movie mixes horror conventions with dark comedy and features a supporting cast that includes Bridget Everett, Clancy Brown, and Sally Field. Released by Netflix, Little Evil gave Lilly an opportunity to lead a quirky genre film between her larger franchise appearances.
2018 — Ant-Man and the Wasp
Ant-Man and the Wasp was released in 2018 with Peyton Reed returning as director and Paul Rudd and Lilly leading the cast. Lilly reprises her role as Hope van Dyne, but this time she officially takes on the superhero identity of the Wasp and becomes a full co-lead of the story. The film follows Scott Lang, Hope, and Hank Pym as they attempt to rescue Janet van Dyne while dealing with the mysterious Ghost and other threats. It was particularly significant in Lilly’s career because the Wasp became the first female superhero to headline an MCU film alongside the male title character.
2019 — Avengers: Endgame
Lilly returned as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The film brings together a huge Marvel ensemble including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, and Lilly. Her role is relatively brief compared with the central Avengers characters, but Hope is part of the climactic MCU story and appears as the Wasp during the final conflict. Avengers: Endgame became a landmark superhero blockbuster and served as the culmination of the first major era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2021 — Crisis
In 2021, Lilly starred in Crisis, a crime thriller written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki. She plays Claire Reimann, an architect and recovering opioid addict whose personal investigation into her son’s disappearance becomes connected to a larger crisis involving pharmaceutical companies and the illegal drug trade. The ensemble includes Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguez, and Luke Evans, with the narrative following several interconnected perspectives on the opioid epidemic. The film gave Lilly one of her more serious dramatic roles and allowed her to work outside the large-scale fantasy and superhero franchises for which she was best known.
2021 — Legend of Destruction
Legend of Destruction is a 2021 animated historical drama directed by Gidi Dar and centered on the Jewish revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Lilly provides the voice of Queen Berenice in the English-language version, appearing alongside voice performers including Oscar Isaac, Elliott Gould, and Billy Zane. The film uses an unusual visual approach built around thousands of paintings and illustrations rather than conventional computer-generated animation. Lilly’s participation is therefore a voice role, rather than a live-action performance, and the English-language version represents an important non-standard feature-film credit in her filmography.
2021 — South of Heaven
Also released in 2021, South of Heaven is a crime thriller directed by Aharon Keshales and starring Jason Sudeikis, Lilly, Mike Colter, and Shea Whigham. Lilly plays Annie Ray, the terminally ill fiancée of recently paroled Jimmy Ray, played by Sudeikis. Jimmy hopes to rebuild his life with Annie, but his plans are disrupted by a corrupt parole officer and a dangerous criminal organization. The film combines crime drama, action, and revenge elements and gave Lilly another substantial dramatic role outside her major franchise work.
2023 — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Lilly’s latest released feature film role is Hope van Dyne/The Wasp in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, directed by Peyton Reed. She stars alongside Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, and Jonathan Majors as the Ant-Man family becomes trapped in the mysterious Quantum Realm. The superhero adventure expands the MCU’s Quantum Realm mythology and introduces Kang the Conqueror as a major threat. The movie officially opened Phase Five of the MCU and marked Lilly’s third leading appearance as the Wasp in the Ant-Man series.
Conclusion
Evangeline Lilly’s movie career has developed from brief uncredited appearances in early-2000s comedies and horror films into major roles in some of the biggest fantasy and superhero franchises of the modern era. Her performances as Tauriel in The Hobbit films and Hope van Dyne/The Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe became defining parts of her filmography, while movies such as The Hurt Locker, Afterwards, Crisis, and South of Heaven showcased her dramatic range. Her voice performance in Legend of Destruction also demonstrates the variety of projects included in her career. From her earliest appearances to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Evangeline Lilly movies by year reveal a career that has moved across comedy, horror, drama, fantasy, science fiction, and superhero cinema.
