Quantumania’s Cassie Lang Recast Breaks The MCU Timeline

The recasting of Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania breaks the MCU timeline. Though this was actually the fourth big-screen appearance of Scott Lang's daughter, this was the first time Kathryn Newton played the character. Now, Cassie has been brought to life by three different actresses.

Due to the five years that passed between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, it was no longer feasible for the actress who played her in the first two Ant-Man movies, Abby Ryder Forston, to reprise the role a third time. For that reason, Emma Fuhrmann was brought in to play Cassie when the character reunited with Scott in Endgame. Now, the MCU has found yet another actress for the role in Kathryn Newton. Presumably, Newton will continue to play Cassie in any other movies or shows that call for the return of her character, who may or may not be the MCU's Stature now. Regardless, the change in actresses is a significant one for the MCU. Here's how it shakes up the timeline of the Marvel movies.

How Old Cassie Lang Is In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man, Wasp, and Cassie Lang in the quantum realm in Quantumania

Cassie's age isn't clearly stated in the movie itself, but has been discussed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director Peyton Reed. Reed confirmed that Newton's Cassie Lang is 18 years old, which would make her two years older than she was during her last MCU appearance. Endgame was set in 2023, and all indications point to Quantumania taking place in 2025. The book that Scott had recently published at the start of Quantumania was spotted in a news broadcast during Wakanda Forever. Since the latter film is confirmed to be set in 2025, it stands to reason that the same is true for Quantumania.

How Cassie Lang's Age Breaks The MCU Timeline

What's been said about Cassie's age simply doesn't add up. In Quantumania, Cassie mentioned that she was six years old when she was attacked by Yellowjacket in Ant-Man. But based on Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp's respective placements in the MCU timeline, this can't be true. It was said in the second movie that Cassie was 10 years old, yet the two movies are only separated by two years. One could argue that Cassie was simply mistaken about how old she was during the events of Ant-Man, but it's more likely that it's just an inconsistency with the MCU timeline.

There's also the matter of where Ant-Man fits on the timeline in relation to Cassie's age in Quantumania. Again, based on the assertion that the new movie is set in 2025, it doesn't quite work for Cassie to be 18 years old just yet. The official MCU timeline puts Ant-Man at 2015, meaning that Cassie should've only aged ten years from the beginning of her MCU story to the onset of Phase 5. With that being the case, she should be closer to 16 years old.

How Quantumania's Cassie Recast Makes Timeline Errors Worse

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang in Ant Man and the Wasp Quantumania

The decision to replace Fuhrmann with Newton further conflates the issue. Cassie may be 18 years of age in MCU canon, but the actress chosen for the role and the maturity of the character greatly strains the suspension of disbelief. Newton is 26 years old, which furthers the impression that Cassie has aged considerably - perhaps more than she should have in the time that's passed. Underscoring that point is the fact that Forston, the original Cassie Lang actress, is only 14 years old in 2023, even though the MCU is only two years ahead of real-life.

In-universe, roughly only ten years have gone by, yet the small child featured in Ant-Man has aged into a fully-grown woman who's already been in jail on two separate occasions. All things considered, the Cassie depicted in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania comes across more as a woman in her early to mid-twenties than a teenager barely out of high school.

Why Quantumania Recast Cassie Lang

Since Furhrmann is 21 years old and easily could have played Quantumania's version of Cassie, recasting her wasn't something that had to happen story-wise. As things stand, Marvel has yet to offer an official explanation on the move to recast the character, but Fuhrmann presumably not being part of a long-term plan was likely a contributing factor. Marvel just needed an actress to portray her for a short sequence in the movie, not a starring role. Cassie's screen-time in Endgame was extremely limited, whereas Quantumania utilizes her as a main character. Because Fuhrmann's role was so brief, Marvel may have deemed it unnecessary for Quantumania to be beholden to Endgame's interpretation of a teenage Cassie.

It makes sense that star power had a lot to do with why Newton received the part in the end. Newton is a much more experienced actress with a number of prominent movie and TV roles under her belt. Marvel may have decided that her acting chops made her the best fit for what they had planned for Cassie in Quantumania.

There's also the matter of what comes next for Cassie in the MCU. For now, there's no word on if or when she'll pop up again, but the current direction of the overarching story gives her good chances of coming back, if for no other reason than to fight Kang the Conqueror. Quantumania's story sets up the core cast of the Ant-Man movies to be at the forefront of the battle with Kang, which would make it all the more important that Marvel choose an actress for Cassie that they can see playing the characters for years to come.

On top of a potential appearance in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars, Cassie could very well be on hand for a completely different crossover movie. Marvel has yet confirm that a Young Avengers project is development, but the way in which it's seemingly guiding young MCU characters toward their own superhero journeys is a sign that this particular superhero team is indeed a part of Marvel's plans. As Stature, Cassie was on the team and would be a top candidate for a spot on the lineup if Young Avengers ever happens in the MCU. Thanks to the recasting of Scott's daughter in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel may already have one of the movie's stars in play as early as Phase 5.

NEXT: Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania Ending Explained (In Detail)