Update: Avengers: Endgame directors have confirmed Katherine Langford's cut role.
Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame.
There were multiple reports claiming that Katherine Langford was cast in an undisclosed role for Avengers: Endgame, but the 13 Reasons Why actress was never spotted in the latest Marvel Studios blockbuster. So what happened to her role? It was reported in October that Langford had joined Avengers: Endgame. Despite being cast late in the process, she reportedly filmed scenes during Endgame's reshoots, which ended around the same time in October.
Rumors of her portraying Kate Bishop began to crop up online. And considering the assumed transformation of Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) into Ronin Endgame, it was a convincing suggestion. Another plausibility that gained traction in the months leading up to Endgame's release was the possibility of her portraying a grown-up Morgan - the daughter of Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Avengers: Infinity War already alluded to the possibility of Tony and Pepper having a child, and Paltrow seemingly confirmed the couple's future in an interview. The casting of an older Cassie Lang played by Emma Fuhrmann backed the theory that the movie would move around forward in time, paving the way for the introduction of a teenage Morgan.
Sadly, despite all that speculation, Langford was nowhere to be seen in Avengers: Endgame. Morgan is shown during her toddler years as she lived a quiet life with her mom and dad, while Kate Bishop will have to wait for Hawkeye's Disney+ series. It's possible that Langford was never actually cast in Endgame - the reports were never officially confirmed by Marvel - but, assuming she was, what role was it and why didn't she make the final cut?
There's definitely a couple of ways that Marvel could've incorporated an older Morgan played by Katherine Langford. Since Avengers: Endgame was already dealing with time travel, they could've traveled forward in time to see a glimpse of her. It could've been part of setting up what lies ahead for the MCU, possibly also with a tease of Cassie becoming Stature and the re-emergence of Monica Rambeau as Photon/Spectrum. Another possibility is through a dream sequence. With Tony's visions almost like premonitions at this point (cases in point: the arrival of Thanos and his future with Pepper), a teenage Morgan could've appeared in his dreams. While all those possibilities would've been amazing to see pan out on-screen, there's not much about it that serves the story, which would explain why a Langford Morgan was cut.
Seeing Tony actually interacting with her daughter in the film is arguably more powerful than seeing him conjuring an image of her or seeing her in the future. This better established Tony's relationship with Morgan and it gave us context as to what legacy he leaves her with. Granted, Avengers: Endgame did set up a string of future MCU films, but it wasn't done in an overt way that took away from the idea that this film marks the end of an era for the franchise; a blatant tease of what lies ahead will feel out of place.
If she was Morgan, it's not out of the question that Langford could play the role in the future. The MCU timeline is now in 2023 and most directly upcoming movies are expected to prequels, but eventually, they may want to have Morgan take up her father's mantle.
But that's just one possibility, and even if that's not who Katherine Langford was playing in Avengers: Endgame, the runtime reasoning is still likely the answer to her absence. Endgame is already long as it is and directors Joe and Anthony Russo had to make sure that the narrative is as tight as possible.
More: Avengers: Endgame's Post-Credits Surprise Explained
