Marvel Studios
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting close to 20 years old at this point. It’s frankly amazing we have actors like Chris Hemsworth still playing Thor after 15 years in the role. More than that, the MCU has cast multiple actors in more than one role at this point. In other cases, though, actors have had to be replaced along the way. Don Cheadle infamously took over as Rhodey from Terrence Howard. It’s a function of the nature of the beast.
However, there is one character who’s been played by not one but three different actors in the MCU thus far. The character in question is Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man. The latter’s been played by Paul Rudd ever since 2015’s “Ant-Man,” and even though Edgar Wright’s “Ant-Man” remains Marvel’s greatest missed opportunity, Rudd’s casting is hard to argue against.
But the role of his daughter has been forced to shift a few times. Abby Ryder Fortson played the part in both “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” when she was a bit younger. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was a funny and fun palette cleanser after “Avengers: Infinity War,” but, rather crucially, it also helped tee up “Avengers: Endgame,” which featured a five-year time jump.
For that reason, Marvel Studios and Disney had to recast Fortson. While five years passed in universe, only about a year passed in real world time. As such, Emma Fuhrmann was brought in to play Cassie, who had an emotional reunion with her father after he returned from the Quantum Realm upon being trapped there for several years (with everyone having simply assumed he’d been dusted by Thanos’ snap). Fuhrmann, unfortunately, didn’t get the chance to reprise the role, with Kathryn Newton taking over from there.
Why has Cassie Lang been recast in the MCU two different times?
Marvel Studios
When it came time for Marvel Studios and director Peyton Reed to put together 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” even though Emma Fuhrmann was age appropriate to play Scott Lang’s then-18-year-old daughter, Kathryn Newton (“Blockers,” “Detective Pikachu”) was brought in to play Cassie instead.
It’s certainly not because Fuhrmann had no interest in returning to the MCU. In December 2020, after Newton’s casting was announced, Fuhrmann took to Twitter/X to address the recasting, saying the following:
“Just wanted to come on here & say that I see all your kind messages. Thank you for all your support. It has meant the world to me. I was as sad as you all were to hear the news Thursday. I can only hope that this means there is something else for me in the future of the MCU. I will always be grateful to have been a part of the MCU & the biggest movie of all time.”
As for why Newton was brought in to play Cassie Lang (starting with “Quantumania”)? In the commentary track for the movie, Reed explained that he wanted an actor “who could really hang with Paul Rudd and sort of not be left in the dust.” He also added that “she’s gotta be sharp, and quick, and funny. And also, [Newton] is an athlete. She’s a world-class golfer. She has the physicality for the role.”
Cassie, aka Stature, is one of the members of the Young Avengers to appear in the MCU so far. Clearly, that team is being set up for a future project. When that happens, it will very likely be Newton picking up where she left off, barring yet another unforeseen recasting.