Edgar Wright will be making his full-fledged entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Ant-Man begins filming later this year for release two summers from now. The universally-adored Hot Fuzz filmmaker recently announced that he will be bringing a pair of old friends to serve in important roles behind the scenes.

First up, Bill Pope will be Ant-Man‘s director of photography, and his name should be familiar to lovers of fantastic cinema the world over. Pope’s past credits as cinematographer include Army of Darkness, The Matrix and its two sequels, and both Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He also served as DP on Wright’s last two films, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and The World’s End. Pope is one of the best cinematographers of dynamic action working in the film industry and his experience with capturing large-scale superheroics with vibrant style and color makes him a natural fit for Edgar Wright’s latest splashy extravaganza.

It appears that director Edgar Wright has chosen his actress for the female lead in the upcoming Marvel flick Ant-Man, and that actress is Evangeline Lilly.

The Canadian actress best known for her role as Kate on LOST has entered into early talks for the role, in which she would join the existing cast of Paul Rudd, who will play Scott Lang, Michael Douglas, who is playing Hank Pym, and Michael Pena, who is set to play an unnamed villain role.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 161 Minutes
Release Date: December 13, 2013

Director Peter Jackson returns to J.R.R. Tokien“˜s Middle-Earth with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second entry in a new series of films that serve as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), along with Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), and his twelve companions, continue on their quest: to reach the Lonely Mountain and reclaim the kingdom of Ererbor (and its golden treasure) from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), the “Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities.”

Bilbo and his companions venture into the black forest of Mirkwood, where they are attacked by giant spiders and captured by Wood-elves. Enter Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) in a storyline created by Jackson to expand The Hobbit narrative and give the story a female character, which it desperately needs.

Much of what we have seen of Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug came from promotional items, like toy box covers, or leaked set photos.

But in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the former Lost star talks about the character, her place in the Elvish social order, and the possible romantic interests she has in the film. Check out the full photo below of Lilly as Tauriel here below.

On Sunday, March 24, 2013, Peter Jackson hosted an exclusive live online event to premiere new footage from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – the second film in his trilogy inspired by the classic J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novel – and answer questions from viewers and a selection of special surprise guests. This event was open only to those who had purchased The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Blu-ray and received a unique passcode to access the live feed.

Today, Jackson has released a 6-minute edited excerpt of the event on his YouTube channel. You can watch the video here below.