T.I. reportedly not returning for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

T.I. is out of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

According to both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the actor-rapper will not be reprising his supporting role as Dave for the third entry in the blockbuster franchise. You'll recall the character is an old prison buddy of Paul Rudd's good natured thief-turned-pint-sized superhero, Scott Lang. And as a member of the X-Con Security crew with Luis and Kurt, played by Michael Pena and David Dastmalchian respectively, the trio helps Ant-Man on his continuing adventures.

While things can certainly shift in the script (especially minor characters) before a film's start date, it's unclear if the news is related to T.I.'s quickly-escalating legal predicament.  Yesterday, The New York Times published a story detailing sexual abuse allegations by 11 people against T.I., real name Clifford Harris, and his wife Tameka "Tiny" Harris. However, Variety quotes insiders from Disney, which owns Marvel, as saying that T.I.'s character was never slated to return to the threequel in the first place.

SYFY has reached out to Disney for comment.

Tyrone Blackburn, a lawyer for the accusers, sent Attorney Generals of California and Georgia, where the alleged crimes took place, letters detailing instances of drugging, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and rape over a period dating back as far as 2005.

Blackburn is calling on law enforcement to launch a criminal inquiry into the matter and there's already been fallout for T.I.'s career. Last month, VH1 suspended production of the couple's reality series, T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle, in light of the abuse claims.

Steve Sadow, a lawyer for T.I. and Harris, flatly denied the allegations in a statement, calling them "baseless" and a "sordid shakedown campaign."

"We fully expect that if these claims are thoroughly and fairly investigated, no charges will be forthcoming," said the attorney.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is once again being helmed by Peyton Reed, started shooting last month in Turkey with principal photography set for this summer. The film is expected to debut sometime in 2020, and purportedly dives much deeper into the Quantum Realm. Returning with Rudd are Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. They'll be joined by newcomers Jonathan Majors as Ant-Man's classic nemesis, Kang the Conqueror, and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Lang's daughter.