How The MCU Recasted Cassie Lang 👀
Ant-Man's Cassie Lang was recast three times. Most recently, Kathryn Newton was announced to replace Emma Fuhrmann. Here, we look into why.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced audiences to Scott Lang and his daughter, Cassie Lang, in 2015's Ant-Man. Played by Abby Ryder Fortson, Cassie was around 8 years old in the film. However, she grew up, and by the time of 2015's Avengers: Endgame, which followed a five-year gap in the MCU timeline, Cassie was a teenager, played by Emma Fuhrmann.
However, Cassie Lang has been recast yet again for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, set for release on Feb. 17, 2023, with Kathryn Newton in the role. The character has now been recast multiple times, and it could have ramifications for the MCU moving forward.
As previously stated, many years passed between Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame, which featured a five-year time jump following Thanos' Snap, as depicted in Avengers: Infinity War. That placed even more distance between Cassie's appearances in Ant-Man and its 2018 sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and her return in Endgame, most of which unfolds in the MCU's "present day," 2023. With such a dramatic time span, the character obviously needed to be recast to accommodate Cassie's true age. Thus, Abby Ryder Fortson was replaced by Emma Fuhrmann to embody the teenage Cassie.
Although Fuhrmann appeared as Cassie in only two scenes, Endgame seemed to be setting her up to become a prominent character in the future of the MCU. In Marvel comics, Cassie Lang became the superhero known as Stature/Stinger/Ant-Girl and joined the Young Avengers. Therefore, it was expected Fuhrmann would likely continue her role, taking Cassie from average teen to superhero. However, another recasting establishes that won't be the case.
It's unclear exactly why Fuhrmann was replaced; however, Kathryn Newton's rising star status may be a factor. Newton featured in Big Little Lies, Freaky, The Society, Blockers and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. It's possible Marvel Studios believed her Hollywood prominence would be beneficial to the MCU.
That is likely why Marvel replaced Furhmann, but it certainly could be for other reasons, such as scheduling conflicts. However, as of now, Emma Fuhrmann's IMDb doesn't indicate she has any projects on the horizon. Whatever the case may be, the recasting doesn't speak to Furhmann's abilities as an actor -- her exceptional performance in the emotional reunion scene with her father in Endgame was one of the most memorable parts of the film.
For the most part, the first two Ant-Man movies are action comedies that are charming enough on their own and don’t try too hard to be integral to Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continuity. That’s all changing in the new trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) seems to make a deal of some kind with Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), only to be betrayed by Kang and get trapped in a desperate struggle for survival. It’s a heavy dramatic turn by Ant-Man standards, and it’s setting up the next couple phases of the MCU Multiverse Saga, which will evidently involve a lot of Kang, especially in the Avengers movie that has his name in it.
Recent MCU events caused Scott Lang to lose precious time with his daughter. In the new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer, Kang offers to give him all of that time back somehow. It’s a rather emotionally resonant premise for an MCU movie, especially an Ant-Man movie, and the trailer does a good job of making it look like Scott Lang is completely outclassed this time. There’s a snappy little dialogue exchange where Kang says, “You thought you could win?!” and Scott only responds, “I don’t have to win. We both just have to lose.” Props where it’s due, this is probably one of the best
You can pick apart the new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer for Easter eggs. There’s a big floating head thing at 1:46 that looks kind of like M.O.D.O.K., but I’m sure there’s some super fan that can explain articulately in the comments who/what exactly that is and why it is or isn’t M.O.D.O.K. Whatever it is, it looks cool.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives in theaters on February 17. In addition to Rudd and Majors, the cast will include Evangeline Lilly, Kathryn Newton (as aged up Cassie Lang), Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
