Ant-Man 3 Won’t Feature Rapper T.I. As Scott’s Pal Dave

T.I. will not return alongside Paul Rudd for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The actor debuted in the original 2015 Ant-Man film as Dave, one of Luis’ (Michael Peńa) ex-convict friends who eventually helped Scott Lang in his mission. The actor returned in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but his MCU journey comes to an unexpected end.

Plot details for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are still under wraps but the threequel is expected to see Scott, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne come together for a new mission. Given the movie’s title, the upcoming blockbuster will continue its exploration of the quantum realm, which played a significant part in the heroes’ mission in Avengers: Endgame.  Jonathan Majors will debut the time-traveling character, Kang, the Conqueror who is tipped to be its main villain. While the main cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is already confirmed to return, Scott’s quirky friends will be missing a member in the upcoming threequel.

THR is reporting that T.I. is not on the confirmed cast list for the upcoming Marvel Studios project. This news comes amidst allegations against the rapper and his wife, Tiny, for “sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, false imprisonment, intimidation, assault and harassment.” The couple strongly denied the claims, releasing a statement through their lawyer. The article points out, however, that it’s unconfirmed if the scandal is the reason behind T.I’s absence in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Read the statement given via T.I.’s lawyer below:

Clifford (T.I.) and Tameka Harris (Tiny) deny in the strongest possible terms these unsubstantiated and baseless allegations. We are confident that if these claims are thoroughly and fairly investigated, no charges will be forthcoming.

David Dastmalchian’s Kurt played minor roles in both Ant-Man films; meanwhile, Luis was their clear leader, hence why he’s given more to do. Despite this, however, they’re effectively used in both movies for comedic purposes. It’s uncertain what the trio’s individual fates were when Thanos snapped his fingers and decimated half of life in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. In any case, since it’s technically been five years since the Mad Titan’s snap, it won’t be that difficult for Marvel Studios to explain his absence in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania if they’re planning on addressing the subject on screen.

T.I. isn’t the only actor initially expected to be in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania who won’t appear in the third film. Original Cassie Lang actress, Emma Fuhrmann, has been recast, with Kathryn Newton taking over the role. It’s uncertain what brought on the change, but Newton has expressed her excitement over joining the MCU.