Evangeline Lilly reveals she refused Hugh Jackman’s plea for her to join X-Men

‘I was like, “No. It doesn’t interest me. I’m not interested,”’ actor recalled

Evangeline Lilly revealed that Hugh Jackman tried to persuade her to join an X-Men movie while the pair were filming Real Steel (2011) – Shawn Levy’s sci-fi about robot boxing.

Lilly later joined the Ant-Man franchise as Hope van Dyne (AKA Wasp) and reprises her role in the series’ third instalment Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, out 17 February.

Lilly recalled the anecdote while promoting the movie on Josh Horowitz’s popular Happy Sad Confused podcast.

“[Jackman] was like, ‘Hey, so, the X-Men guys are asking me if I would approach you because they know that you won’t talk to anybody, and won’t do anything, and you’re not reading scripts, and no one can reach you,” she said.

“‘They knew I was working with you and were interested to know if it would ever interest you to do an X-Men thing.’

“I was like, ‘No. It doesn’t interest me. I’m not interested,’” she remembered telling the Wolverine star.

Evangeline Lilly and Hugh Jackman (Getty Images)

“I was like, I feel like such a dick because I’m talking to an X-Men! The X-Men! And I’m telling him, ‘No that doesn’t appeal.’ Like, what?! I felt so rude!”

Lilly didn’t specify which X-Men project Jackman was trying to sign her for but the actor next appeared as the superhero in 2013’s The Wolverine.

Lilly also revealed on the podcast that before Jackman tried to convince her to join X-Men, Joss Whedon had approached her for the role of Wonder Woman, which eventually went to Gal Gadot.

“I think my impression coming away from it was I had no desire and he could tell,” Lilly said of meeting the now-outcast filmmaker.

The actor said there may have been some “offence taken” in her uninterested reaction to the role.

Read The Independent’s three-star review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania here.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out in cinemas 17 February.