Evangeline Lilly (Lost's Kate) blasts Disney over Marvel layoffs and AI

Evangeline Lilly, who played Kate Austen on Lost and Hope van Dyne in the MCU, posted a blistering Instagram video on April 30, 2026 attacking Disney over mass Marvel layoffs and the company's pivot to AI. "Disney, SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away," she wrote. On April 14, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro announced roughly 1,000 job cuts, hitting Marvel Studios' visual development team — about 8% of its workforce. Among those let go was Andy Park, a 16-year veteran who designed the original Wasp suit Lilly wore and worked on Captain America, Thor, and Avengers: Endgame.

Lilly called Park directly to confirm. "I can't quite believe that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life," she said, alleging the artists were being replaced by AI trained on their own work. She also called on California lawmakers for protection: "Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!?" Marvel Studios declined to comment on whether AI replacement was planned. Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter all covered her statement. Now retired from filming after a 2025 brain injury and a career hiatus begun in 2024, Lilly no longer acts — but she still speaks. And she chose to speak for the artists being replaced by algorithms. Kate always took the side of the abandoned. Twenty years later, the actress does exactly the same.