‘Ant-Man And The Wasp’ Star Evangeline Lilly Requested Hope’s New Ponytail

There’s something different about the female star of “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Not only is she in the title of the film (a first for a woman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but also her hair isn’t falling into romantic, cascading curls perfectly framing her face. Instead, Hope van Dyne has a ponytail.

Director Peyton Reed revealed that actress Evangeline Lilly is the one who opted to have her hair pulled back. “She’s in there and really wants to get it right,” Reed told the Hollywood Reporter. “Every aspect of that character. It was important to her. ‘I want to sweat. A lot of those female heroes they fight and they look great and glam, I want to sweat. I want to have my hair in a ponytail because that’s what I would do.’”

The Wasp’s ponytail isn’t perfect, either. It’s a little messy — as it should be after fighting bad guys. It certainly makes the character feel realistic.

Marvel is getting more and more female heroes, but they tend to look like they just came from the salon. While the Dora Milaje from “Black Panther” shave their heads to stay battle-ready, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) tend to never have a hair out of place. Even Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) in “Thor: Ragnarok” actually took her hair out of the pulled back look so she could have her glossy locks on display for the final battle. Lilly’s change is a welcome one.

Of course, it isn’t just a ponytail that proves the Wasp is a kick-butt superhero. Lilly told ET Canada that she is very proud of how the film allows Hope to feel feminine and doesn’t force her to take on masculine attributes to prove her worth.

“What I have seen often in attempts at that in the past, when men have attempted to represent female power, what I recognize usually is masculine power portrayed through a woman,” she explained. “And in this film, I am very proud to say I recognize authentic female power in that it’s powerful to be vulnerable. It’s powerful to be elegant. It’s powerful to be graceful and nurturing and kind and forgiving and compassionate and generous and things that tend to be typically categorized as weaknesses and often are found in feminine beings.”

After “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” the next time Marvel will represent female power will be in March when Brie Larson stars in “Captain Marvel,” the first MCU movie with a solo female headlining.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” hits theaters Friday, July 6.