Marvel Studios has decided to part ways with Jonathan Majors, the Emmy-nominated actor best known for depicting the villain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The verdict follows Majors’ conviction for reckless assault and harassment by a six-person jury in his domestic abuse trial.
IRL villain
Police arrested Majors’ back in March on assault charges. Despite his stardom, he seems to have been a violent partner.
Prosecutors allege that Majors assaulted his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in a hired car in Manhattan on March 25. The attack left her with a broken finger and several minor injuries and likely caused her significant trauma.
Jabbari testified that Majors attacked her when she grabbed his phone after seeing a text from another woman. She also described him as having a “violent temper” and other instances in which he “exploded” into anger.
Majors’ career
Majors began as Kang in the TV series Loki and went on to appear in the blockbuster hit Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Until he was fired, he was poised for a successful career as a character actor in the MCU.
Subsequent entries in the series were supposed to feature a big role for his character, leading up to his own movie. It’s titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and is currently scheduled for May 1, 2026.
Majors’ actions have had broader consequences for his career outside the MCU. His manager, 360 Entertainment, and publicist, The Lede Company, fired him shortly after his arrest in March.
Additionally, he was dropped from several projects, including an adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel The Man in My Basement and an undisclosed Otis Redding biography.
He who remains?
The actor’s firing raises concerns about the character’s fate and the future of the highly popular Avengers series. Marvel Studios, long used to dealing with actor turnover, is now debating whether to recast the part, introduce Loki as the new cosmic guardian, or ditch the Kang character entirely.
Marvel has a history of replacing renowned performers, and Kang’s backstory as a time-traveling figure makes recasting plausible. Given the character’s connection with Kang, Loki co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw may step into the role.
Despite the earlier announcement of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Marvel may also choose to abandon the Kang narrative entirely. The Loki Season Two conclusion positioned Loki as the multiverse’s guardian, presenting an alternate story without Kang.
Loki, as played by Tom Hiddleston, could take on the cosmic role that Marvel originally planned for Kang.
Marvel’s decision-making process will likely have an impact on the MCU and the upcoming Avengers feature. While Majors’ departure is a setback, Marvel’s brand is too valuable for Disney to let it ruin the series. Marvel may recast, revise, or ditch the character, but the MCU will continue to develop and expand.
