‘Avengers: Kang Dynasty’ Reportedly Under a New Title Following Jonathan Majors’ Leave From the MCU
And when it rains, it pours. 2023 wasn’t exactly stellar for the MCU and Marvel Studios, as the first project, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ that was supposed to usher in a new villain, Kang the Conqueror, flopped big time. Adding insult to injury, soon after the release of the blockbuster movie, the actor behind the villain who was supposed to mark the next few phases of the MCU was arrested.
According to the charges, Majors allegedly struck the alleged victim ‘about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear.’ He also allegedly grabbed her hand and neck, causing bruising on the neck and a broken finger. And while his lawyers quickly provided evidence that such a thing never took place, the case was far from over. Although Disney avoided making the same mistake as they did with Johnny Depp in his high-profile case with fellow actress Amber Heard, they took their time evaluating whether they would proceed with Jonathan Majors or not.
There have been rumors of recasting, rumors that Doom will replace Kang as the next big villain, and rumors of ‘Kang Dynasty’ being scrapped altogether. Well, yesterday, news broke that Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of third-degree assault and one count of harassment, which could carry a jail sentence of up to one year, and rumors are rumors no longer.
Marvel Studios reps immediately went out with the statement that Majors is no longer in the MCU and that they will be proceeding without him. What does this mean for the planned movies? Well, Marvel Studios has limited options at its disposal. They can either recast the role, given that Kang the Conqueror is just one of many variants across the Multiverse. This might be viable, except I have to mention the alleged clause that Majors had put in the contract that only he can play any and all variants of Kang in the MCU projects.
The second option is to rework the movie and slowly work around Kang, barely acknowledging him and ushering in a new villain, and it seems like this is the route that the studio will be taking. According to THR, ‘Kang Dynasty’ is no longer being referred to as such; it’s being referred to as simply ‘Avengers 5.’ This makes sense as the studio wants to cut all ties with Majors as soon as possible.
It would also be naive to assume that they weren’t prepared for such an outcome, and that would explain the rise in rumors that ‘Kang Dynasty’ was being reworked or dropped as the movie completely. In any case, the months-long debate on whether Majors is out is over now, and fans can expect the next few phases of the MCU to look completely different.
What do you think? Who might replace Majors? Let us know in the comments below!
