'Ant-Man's Evangeline Lilly Says Disney Should Be Ashamed of Marvel Layoffs

Evangeline Lilly's stepping up to defend the real superheroes behind the Marvel characters onscreen ... blasting parent company Disney for letting some high-profile crew go.

Here's the deal ... the House of Mouse recently laid off about 1,000 staffers amid some notable shakeups at the company -- including the exit of CEO Bob Iger -- and comic book artist Andy Park, who worked on 40+ Marvel movies, was one of them.

In a video posted to social media, Lilly says she reached out to her friend -- who helped bring her character's superhero costume to life, she says -- about the firings and a pivot toward A.I. ... and, she says Park confirmed her worst fears.

She says she feels horrible for Andy and so many others who have worked for years to add verisimilitude to the outlandish science-fiction and fantasy storylines cooked up by Marvel creatives.

Lilly notes the unfair nature of A.I. taking the work these people have dedicated their lives to in order to spit out a cheaper version of the work ... and says her former employer really screwed up here.

She wrote in her caption, “Disney, SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away.”

As you know ... Lilly starred as Hope van Dyne in multiple Marvel movies -- including "Ant-Man" and "Avengers: Endgame." She announced she was putting a pause on her career to focus on family in 2024.