Kathryn Newton Talks Playing Cassie Lang in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’
Moviefone speaks with Kathryn Newton about ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' "I'm so grateful to be part of this cast and this movie," the actress said.
Currently playing in theaters is ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ which is the third film in the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise, and the first movie to be released in Marvel’s Phase 5.
What is the Plot of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
The plot ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ revolves around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), along with Hope's parents, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Lang's daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), going on a new adventure exploring the Quantum Realm that pits them against a new and powerful villain, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Who is in the Cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?’
One again directed by Peyton Reed, the cast of ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ includes returning MCU actors Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, as well as Kathryn Newton joining the series as an older version of Cassie Lang, Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror – a variant of his ‘Loki’ character He Who Remains, and Bill Murray as a new character named Krylar.
Why Was Cassie Lang Recast?
With the five-year time jump that takes place between ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ Marvel needed to cast an older version of Scott’s daughter Cassandra Lang for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’. Actress Kathryn Newton (‘Freaky’) takes over the role from Abby Ryder Forston who played the younger version of Cassie Lang in the previous two movies.
Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with Kathryn Newton about her work on ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ the success of the film, working with Paul Rudd, and why making the movie was a dream come true for her.
Kathryn Newton stars in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania.'
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Kathryn Newton about ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’
Moviefone: To begin with, you recently said at the press conference for the film that you’ve dreamed of playing a Marvel superhero since you first saw ‘Iron Man.’ Now that you’ve done it, was the experience everything you dreamed it would be?
Kathryn Newton: Well, it really was a dream of mine ever since I saw ‘Iron Man.’ I was like, "I want to be Marvel's biggest superhero of all time." I had been acting since I was four. So my little eight-year-old mind thought, Marvel, that's the real deal. And I still believe it's the real deal. They have the greatest actors of all time in their movies, and I've just always wanted to be a part of the MCU.
I think it's an honor to bring a comic book character to life, and I love the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise. I love Cassie Lang. I think she's just like me, or I want to be like her. So it’s really an insane thing to be talking to you today, to have the number one movie in the world in theaters and I'm in the movie. It's crazy. I know it's corny, but dream big guys, and be specific because Cassie Lang grows 40-feet tall, so she just might be the biggest Marvel superhero of all time!
(L to R): Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Kathryn Newton as Cassandra "Cassie" Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.
MF: Can you talk about Cassie and Scott’s father/daughter relationship in this movie?
KN: So Cassie Lang is a new version of this girl. She's continuing the legacy of her father. She's trying to be a hero just like him, and she has her own ideas about what's right. She's been away from him. So she had to make a choice. She was like, "My dad's not here. But I'm going to be a good person." I think that took a lot of bravery to do that, to be a good person.
Scott Lang and her are reconnecting and he's got to kind of learn to accept this new version of his daughter, and it's hard. She's been keeping a lot of secrets, and trying to make him proud. I think you can feel that in the heart of this movie. She just cares about other people. But the one thing that's kind of a problem is she's a little bit impatient. She wants to be a hero right now. But he's like, "No, no, not yet. You don't know what you're doing." That's kind of where we're at in this movie.
(L to R) Kathryn Newton as Cassandra "Cassie" Lang and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2022 Marvel.
Related Article: 10 Things We Learned at the 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' Press Conference
MF: Is it difficult not laughing when you're working with Paul Rudd?
KN: Yes. I can't wait for you to see the gag reel. It's hilarious. There's these bits of Paul, and I'm just behind him trying so hard not to laugh, or just me blurting out laughing. I smiled so much making this movie, and in all the pictures of me on set, I'm smiling.
I'm really lucky that I got that opportunity because it was always a dream of mine. So I knew what a big deal it was to be a part of the MCU, but I never took it for granted that Paul Rudd was that incredible to work with. I mean, laughing every day is just a joy, and I promise you I had more fun and gave it everything I got. So I hope the audience can feel that.
Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2022 Marvel.
KN: What was it like working with Jonathan Majors and watching his process creating the terrifying villain, Kang the Conqueror?
KN: It was really enlightening. He really brought everybody up. I think that he's an incredible actor and an incredible Kang. I'm really excited for the next Phase 5 of Marvel, ‘The Kang Dynasty’ because they have Jonathan and he really cares. He's not phoning it in. I'd meet him in the morning and he's a ray of sunshine, and then he'd put his Kang cape on, and I didn't want to talk to him anymore.
But he made me a better actor. He knew more about my character than I knew. At some points, that's how it felt. I thought, "Why don't I do that?" So for me, what I'm doing now is I took from Jonathan. I'm learning more about the other characters in the movie and then deciding who my character should be because it supports the story in a different way. Even the little bits I have with Kang in this movie, we talked about the characters, what Cassie was going through, who Kang is in this moment, and what he knows about Cassie Lang, their history and their future, just to play with, but not because we're going to do anything about it.
But as an actor in Marvel, you have an encyclopedia of knowledge. You have so many comics and so many places that your character has been or could be going, but we don't use any of that, right? We just think about it and then we do what's on the page. But it was really fun to work with Jonathan because he goes that deep.
(L to R): Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Kathryn Newton as Cassandra "Cassie" Lang in Marvel Studios' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.
MF: Finally, do you know what is next for Cassie Lang in the MCU, and what would you like to see her doing in future Marvel movies?
KN: I have no idea. They don't tell you anything. I don't know if I'm ever going to be in another Marvel movie, but I will say that no matter what, even if I'm lucky enough, nothing will ever top this experience. Me and Paul Rudd running around laughing all day, making jokes. I had the time of my life and nothing will ever top it.
'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' © 2022 Marvel.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania:’
- ‘Ant-Man' (2015)
- ‘Captain America: Civil War' (2016)
- 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' (2018)
- ‘Avengers: Endgame' (2019)
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Witten by Jeff Loveness and directed by Peyton Reed, the sci-fi, action, adventure, comedy, mystery, thriller 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is scheduled for release from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures on February 17th 2023.
