Kathyrn Newton, who now plays Cassie Lang, has revealed some insight into her character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Cassie, Ant-Man’s daughter, although something of a minor character in the grand scheme of the MCU thus far, has still had quite the journey across both Ant-Man films and even Avengers: Endgame.
In her 2015 debut and the 2018 sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Cassie was a little girl played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Then, after the Blip, she was portrayed by Emma Fuhrmann for Endgame. Now, Newton has taken on the role for Quantumania.
Cassie is now supposed to be in her late teens in the current MCU timeline. Not only that, but she also suits up as a superhero in her own right, as glimpsed in Ant-Man 3’s trailer. Kathyrn Newton herself addressed these significant character moments in a recent interview.
Newton: Cassie Wants “To Be a Hero”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Cassie Lang actress and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Kathryn Newton spoke about putting her own spin on an established MCU character:
“That I’m really not perfect and I’m super impatient and I want to be a hero but I have no idea what I’m doing and I think Cassie Lang is like that. She’s just trying to figure out how to be a good person and you know making a lot of mistakes. She’s kind of a mess really, yeah, and so am I.”
When asked if some of Cassie’s “messiness” comes into play in Ant-Man 3, Newton responded, “You’re definitely gonna see some of that. Oh, my good heart.”
The actress also spoke quite highly of co-star Paul Rudd and how encouraging he was to her and her sense of creativity.
“Everyday. Everyday he did something that was like I can’t believe you actually can do this Paul. He just told me not to hold back and I think that’s the greatest blessing ’cause then I just tried everything on set every day. I tried jokes. Maybe they were funny, maybe they weren’t. That’s all you can ask for.”
Previously, during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July, Kathryn Newton discussed (via Variety) the footage from Quantumania which played during Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel. This sneak peek at the film featured a sequence of Cassie being detained in jail, but Newton reassured audiences that Cassie was still “up to good.”
“She was in jail, I can’t believe that they showed that. I love that that was the intro to Cassie. First of all, that experience was so fun for me, I couldn’t even see anybody, but I could feel everybody there. I could feel you all out there, and I hope you liked Cassie Lang a little bit in the little bit that you saw. Yeah, she’s in jail. She’s not up to no good, she’s up to good, okay.”
Additionally, Newton, interviewing with MTV back during SDCC, heaped praise on Quantumania’s production, as well as the cast and crew, noting that writer Jeff Loveness crafted her character as someone who’s “becoming who she’s supposed to be.
“Yeah, but you never think it will. I think in the back of my mind I always thought I would, but I didn’t know that I would. I really can tell you it was the best time of my life making this movie. I didn’t know how fun it was going to be, I just felt like it was perfect for me. The first time I read the script I was like, ‘Oh this is me, I get to run around and be a superhero now, this is sick.’ And Paul Rudd made me laugh like no tomorrow. Our director Peyton Reed is like a super-mega-positron. Our writer, Jeff Loveness, just wrote this character that I felt like she’s just becoming who she’s supposed to be and that means she’s making a lot of mistakes, like me, I make a lot of mistakes. Honestly, no acting is required. None, none at all.”
In another interview (via Deadline) the young actress hammered home that Cassie will be “making a lot of mistakes” in the threequel.
“In Quantumania, you find my character, Cassie Lang, all grown up. She’s been without a dad because of the Blip for like five years, and she thinks she knows who she is. She’s got a lot of love in her heart, and she’s going after what she thinks is good. But she’s making a lot of mistakes, as you do. But she’s becoming who she is in this movie.”
What Will Cassie Lang’s Heroic Arc Look Like?
Of course, as mentioned above, Cassie was only seven years old in the original Ant-Man. But thanks to the snapping of Thanos’ fingers and the MCU jumping forward five years in time, the character was aged up to fifteen in Avengers: Endgame.
Now, in Quantumania, which presumably takes place in 2026 (three years post-Endgame) Cassie will be about eighteen years old, the perfect age for her to begin following in her dad’s footsteps and becoming a superhero. She even appears in her own Ant-Man-style size-changing super suit in the trailer.
Of course, as Kathryn Newton repeatedly mentioned, her character makes mistakes. One of which seems to be getting the entire Ant-Family (Hank and Janet included) trapped in the Quantum Realm, which was also depicted in the recent Easter Egg-filled trailer.
Fans will be able to see Cassie suit up for the first time in the MCU when Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17, 2023.
