During Disney's Investor Day on Thursday, Marvel Studios confirmed that Kathryn Newton will be playing Cassie Lang in the newly titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Emma Fuhrmann played the older Cassie in Avengers: Endgame, but Kevin Feige and company clearly wanted a more experienced actress to play the character as her story continues to unfold in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The question is, will we see Newton suit as Stature?
In the comic books, the teenager follows in her father's footsteps, and becomes a superhero in her own right. Naming herself Stature, the hero more often than not grows in size rather than shrinks. It's likely that will play out in Ant-Man 3, of course, especially with those rumours about the Young Avengers assembling in the threequel in order to square off with Kang the Conqueror.
"Last night I dreamed of being a superhero," Newton posted on Instagram alongside the hashtag, "#STATURE." That may or may not confirm we'll see Stature in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but common sense says this movie will be the perfect opportunity to bring the Young Avengers to the big screen.
Take a look at Newton's Instagram post below:
Click on the "Next" button below to see a list of
the villains coming to the MCU during Phase 4!
10. Kro - Eternals
Eternals now isn't arriving in theaters until next November, but some leaked toy packaging has confirmed that aside from the Celestials, the movie's lead villain will be the Deviant, Kro.
If that action figure is any indication, his tendrils have been lifted straight from Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr.'s Eternals run, but he's definitely undergone something of a transformation compared to what you see above! The aforementioned packaging reveals that he's, "A powerful Deviant unlike any other the Eternals have faced over the millennia."
It's added that "Kro's appearance is the harbinger for a global threat," a reference to the looming threat of the Celestials. Right now, we don't even know who is voicing this CGI baddie, though!
9. Madame Masque - Hawkeye
We're still waiting for confirmation about who is playing Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, but there have been plenty of other rumours about what's to come in the Disney+ TV series.
The Tracksuit Mafia is likely going to cross paths with Clint Barton, while it's been said that he'll come face-to-face with his brother Trickshot too. However, the rumoured lead villain is said to be Madame Masque, an Iron Man villain who has a history with both versions of Hawkeye.
A wealthy socialite, Whitney Frost is the daughter of Maggia leader Count Nefaria. Hiding her face behind a golden mask after she was horribly scarred, her quest for vengeance has seen her fight on the sides of both good and evil; it's the latter which really seems to draw her in, though.
8. Electro - Spider-Man 3
Following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, there were a lot of big theories about who Spider-Man 3's villain might be. Kraven the Hunter was somewhere near the top of the list, as were the Green Goblin and Sinister Six; however, a name no one suggested was Max Dillon, a.k.a. Electro.
The villain first made his live-action debut in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 played by Jamie Foxx. Shockingly (no pun intended), the Oscar-winner is set to reprise the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...this time, he's not going to have blue skin, though, so it's probably not the same version!
A now deleted Instagram post from Foxx has led to there being a lot of speculation about this being a "Spider-Verse" movie, but that's unconfirmed, and all we really know right now is that the wall-crawler will once again square off with this electrically charged baddie on the big screen.
7. Taskmaster - Black Widow
We should have actually seen Black Widow by now, but the movie is instead coming to theaters next May (a whole year after it was supposed to be released). Melina Vostokoff, Red Guardian, and Yelena Belova have all typically been portrayed as villains in the comic books, but it looks like they're going to be allies to Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Someone who is going to be terrorising Black Widow, however, is Taskmaster. We're still not entirely sure who is beneath the mask - Rick Mason is the top candidate right now - but it's been confirmed that he'll utilise the movements of characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man. That's going to make him a true threat to Natasha when they go toe-to-toe.
Dreykov (the man in charge of the Red Room) will likely be pulling Taskmaster's strings.
6. Baron Zemo - The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
Zemo was the lead villain in Captain America: Civil War, and successfully managed to tear The Avengers apart before being taken into custody by Black Panther and the C.I.A. That's quite the achievement, and we can only guess what his plan is going to be in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Based on what little we know about the Disney+ TV series, something tells us it will have something to do with creating super soldiers or controlling the new Captain America. There were once rumours about a virus, but it's believed that subplot was removed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Regardless, he's going to don his mask, so fingers crossed the Baron also assembles the Thunderbolts.
5. The Mandarin - Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
The Mandarin was first mentioned in 2008's Iron Man, and while it looked like we'd finally get to meet the villain in Iron Man 3, it didn't take long for that movie to out him as an English actor called Trevor.
It was a funny punchline, but one which definitely didn't do the character justice. Marvel Studios would later go some way in making that up to fans by revealing that the real Mandarin is out there somewhere, and we're now set to meet him in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!
Tony Leung Chiu-wai will play the iconic villain, and rumour has it he forces Shang-Chi to enter an underground fight tournament to win the Ten Rings he's spent years hunting for. Fin Fang Foom is expected to appear too, so there's definitely going to be some epic action scenes in the movie.
4. Minotaur - Thor: Love And Thunder
Christian Bale has been cast as the villain in Thor: Love and Thunder, though we've yet to hear who he's playing. However, the rumours are all pointing to the former Batman transforming into Minotaur!
Dario Agger is the head of Roxxon, and he has ambitious plans to use each of the Nine Realms for financial game by pilfering them of their fossil fuels. Aligning himself with Malekith the Accursed, Agger didn't care who he killed along the way, and that brought him into conflict with both Thor and the Mighty Thor (he's a physical match for them both as he transforms into a literal Minotaur).
This would be a different type of villain for the Thor franchise, but with mentions of Roxxon spotted on the set of Loki, it definitely feels like Marvel Studios is finally taking advantage of that evil organisation.
3. Nightmare - Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
There have been rumblings about Nightmare being part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for a while now, though it's unclear whether that changed after Scott Derrickson's departure.
Someone is seemingly pulling the Scarlet Witch's strings, and so we wouldn't be at all surprised if it's Nightmare she and the Sorcerer Supreme have to team-up to defeat. However, it's equally as likely that Mephisto is the true big bad as he's arguably a much bigger threat than this demon.
Either way, Nightmare's name has been cropping up online since the beginning, so it shouldn't be too much longer before we find out whether Sam Raimi also plans to make use of this villain.
2. Namor The Sub-Mariner - Black Panther 2
Namor the Sub-Mariner is long overdue for his big screen debut, and after Avengers: Endgame teased his existence when Black Widow and Okoye talked about undersea earthquakes, it's no wonder there are rumours pointing to the anti-hero battling T'Challa (or Shuri) in Black Panther 2.
The sequel is a logical place to introduce the character, especially if nations like Atlantis and Latveria are about to become key parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Phase 4 and beyond.
After appearing in Ryan Coogler's movie, there's a lot Marvel Studios can do with Namor on the big - or small - screen. For starters, he could join the Avengers or X-Men, but initially using him as an antagonist in Black Panther 2 could be what really helps put the character on the map in live-action.
1. Kang The Conqueror - Ant-Man 3
The Ant-Man movies have always been fun, but they've never really had a huge impact on what's happening elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That looks set to change in Peyton Reed's upcoming threequel, though, because Jonathan Majors is set to play Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man 3.
The Young Avengers are expected to play a pivotal role in proceedings, so that could go some way in explaining where Kang comes in (Iron Lad was a younger version of Kang from an earlier point in his life). Either way, there's no way he's just a one-and-done baddie for this next instalment of the franchise.
We're fully expecting Kang to be a major player in Phase 4 and beyond, and this is likely just going to be his introduction. Still, it makes this movie one we should definite be keeping an eye on.