Evangeline Lilly recalled turning down the lead in Joss Whedon's never-produced Wonder Woman script.
During her appearance on Thursday's episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Golden Globe nominee, 43, told host Josh Horowitz, "I had no desire [to do it]," adding: "And he could tell."
The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star said, "I was too young to be that polite."
Many perceived Whedon's 2006 script as sexist after it leaked online in 2017, when Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman premiered.
"It didn't appeal, and there was nothing about the meeting that like jazzed me or made me think, 'Oh, I've gotta do this.' Nothing clicked. Nothing felt good," Lilly said of her meeting about the 2006 script. "I am way too authentic for my own good. I mean, it's not good. If I am not impressed, you'll know. And maybe you shouldn't know sometimes. And I think there was maybe even a little bit of offense taken."
However, added Lilly, "I was okay with that. I was okay with burning bridges. I was okay with not having everyone in Hollywood just wanna work with me."
Whedon, 58, responded to criticism that the screenplay was "not woke enough" when he spoke to Variety in 2018. "I think they're not looking at the big picture," he said.
"It's easy to take one phrase out of context, and not that I was the most woke individual who ever lived at that time, 10 years ago," added Whedon. "But I was in there swinging, and the movie has integrity, and the characters have integrity, and I stand by it."
Gal Gadot ultimately starred as the Amazonian warrior princess and superhero in Jenkins' Wonder Woman and the 2020 sequel Wonder Woman 1984.
She also played the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and 2017's Justice League, which featured scenes directed by Whedon after director Zack Snyder stepped down amid the death of his daughter.
After Cyborg actor Ray Fisher accused Whedon of "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behavior toward the cast and crew set, Gadot, 37, and their fellow costars also spoke up about their experiences with the director.
"I had my issues with Joss, and I handled it," Gadot told Israeli news outlet N12 in 2021. "He threatened my career and said that if I do something, he will make sure my career is miserable and I took care of it on the spot."
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres Friday in theaters.
