Exactly how far ahead does Marvel Studios plan their stories? Though Abby Ryder Fortson of Ant-Man and the Wasp fame just turned ten last March, a statement from director Peyton Reed has got some fans speculating that the groundwork is already being laid for the actress’s own superhero saga.
The quote in question comes from a bonus featurette for the home release of Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne’s latest outing, in which Reed suggests that Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie could have a prominent future in the franchise.
“Well, I think one of the things that we’ve set the seeds for in both movies — and I think particularly in Ant-Man and the Wasp — is Cassie Lang, Scott’s daughter. In the comics, she goes on to be a hero in her own right, so I love the idea that in this movie we see that moment where she covers for Scott and stands up to the FBI agent. We see a little bit of her father’s personality in her. I’m intrigued to kind of see what the future holds for Cassie.”
From the sound of things, Reed may not have a specific plan in mind for the character, but the comics certainly offer some ideas. In the Young Avengers books, for instance, Cassie joins the titular team under the persona of Stature. Another name she’s been known to go by is Stinger, but either way, she generally exhibits much the same size-changing powers as her father. Of course, we have no real evidence that the movies will be taking the same route, but assuming the MCU still has a good few years left in it, surely this isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.
Though it’s unclear whether Cassie survived the universe-wide purge that concluded Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp did show us the unfortunate fate of Scott’s various colleagues. Just as Hope temporarily lost her mother to the Quantum Realm, Cassie’s father is himself stranded in this mysterious place, but you can expect Ant-Man to make a return when Avengers 4 comes out on May 3rd, 2019.