Marvel Studios has cut ties with Jonathan Majors after he was found guilty of assault, according to Entertainment Weekly. The actor who was being set up to be the next big bad, Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has also been dropped by his agent. The most recent MCU project Majors appeared in was the second season of Loki, where he played a remnant of Kang, Victor Timely.
To add more to this story, The Hollywood Reporter has said that internally at Marvel Studios, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is being referred to as Avengers 5.
Jonathan Majors’ guilty verdict comes after his then-partner, Grace Jabbari, accused him in March 2023 of domestic violence. He then filed a domestic violence complaint against her. However, this claim had little merit. Also, directors who had previously worked with the actor came out to criticise him for bad behaviour on set.
Sentencing will occur in February 2024.
Marvel Studios has a handful of options they can consider. One is recasting. The second is to write the character out completely. It is believed that Kang was not supposed to be a major villain in the franchise until Jonathan Majors’ performance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania changed their minds.
The Studio that has been responsible for some successful superhero films is currently going through some growing pains. Many of their recent releases, including The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have suffered some abysmal box office numbers.
Marvel Studios Has Faced Controversy Before And An Unforgiving System
It is not the first time an MCU actor has come under criticism. Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner was accused by his ex-wife of being violent. He was never formally arrested or charged. Also, Mohan Kapur, the actor behind Yusuf Khan, the father of Ms Marvel, was accused by a minor of sexual assault. Again, he was never arrested or charged.
Marvel Studios doesn’t take these types of situations lying down. They won’t act unless there is a criminal conviction. Other studios aren’t as forgiving. Melissa Barrera was recently fired from the next Scream film due to her social media comments backing Palestine in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
