Ant-Man and The Wasp: Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly hit the red carpet for LA premiere of new Marvel film

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Hollywood stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly were among celebrities to hit the red carpet for the premiere of Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp in Los Angeles.

They were joined by the likes of American rapper T.I., who plays Dave in the new movie, and a host of other co-stars for the event on Monday evening.

Lilly, who stars as Hope Pym, and Rudd, who plays Ant-Man, were pictured smiling and posing for photos as they arrived on the red carpet ahead of the screening.

Ant-Man and The Wasp LA premiere – in pictures

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The movie, a follow-up to Ant-Man which was released in 2015, is set to hit screens in the UK on August 3 and on July 6 in the US.

Paul Rudd attends the Ant-Man And The Wasp premiere in Los Angeles
Getty Images

The likes of Michael Peña (Luis) and Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) also star in the new film.

It is the 20th release in a decade from the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of comic book movies.

T.I. is pictured arriving for the event on Monday night
Getty Images

Lilly’s Wasp is Marvel’s first female superhero to headline a film.

Evangeline Lilly poses for photographs as she arrives to attend the premiere
REUTERS

Speaking to AFP, she said the original plan was to introduce the Wasp's origin story in Marvel's 2016 release Captain America: Civil War along with Ant-Man and the other Avengers.

"I got a call saying, 'We've decided not to put you in Civil War and there was this moment I could tell where the feeling in the room was like, 'I'm sorry - don't be offended.'

"I was like, 'Are they going to give me a move? Is that what they're saying?' And they said, 'We really want to dedicate a film to introducing this female superhero and we don't want her just to be a side note."

Director Peyton Reed, cast members Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer attend
REUTERS

The surprise of double-billing came later, when Marvel sent her a screen capture with The Wasp in the title.

Early estimates have Ant-Man and the Wasp opening domestically on around $75 million (£56 million) over the weekend of July 6, a considerable improvement on the $57 million (£43 million) the first film took.

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