Will Marvel Recast Kang Following Jonathan Major’s Arrest?
Movie studios are always carefully picking which actors they want to hire these days, not only the actors that proved to be best for a certain role at the audition but also actors whose name is followed by a good reputation. We have witnessed many examples of actors and filmmakers being fired over some kind of unacceptable behavior. Jonathan Majors, who recently starred in Michael B. Jordan’s Creed 3 and is currently best known for the role of Nathaniel Richards/Kang the Conqueror in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was arrested in New York City last week on the assault charges. This immediately raised the question if Majors would keep his job at Marvel Studios.
From the information we have now, Jonathan Majors’ agent has met with Marvel Studios to discuss all the possible options for Majors’ future in the franchise. It’s not known if Marvel Studios is considering replacing him since Disney and Marvel Studios didn’t provide any official statements. We have to admit it’s interesting how it’s taking them so long to issue an official statement since the studio would usually take action almost immediately in these situations.
We remember how Johnny Depp lost his job at Disney before he even got to say anything in his defense, and Depp wasn’t even charged in a court of law, unlike Majors, who is facing the charges. Majors and his lawyer strongly claim that the actor is innocent, and we’re still waiting for the final outcome of this whole situation. If Majors is found guilty, he’ll definitely lose his job, but it’s unknown if Disney and Marvel Studios will take any action before this story gets a court epilogue.
Does Jonathan Majors have a future in the MCU?
Jonathan Majors debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first season of Loki on Disney+. He played Nathaniel Richards, also known as He Who Remains. After he was killed by Sylvie Laufeydottir, one of Loki’s variants, the doors of the Multiverse opened, giving all of Nathaniel’s variants, including the evil Kang the Conqueror, a chance to join the party. Majors played Kang this year in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He’s set to return as another variant of Nathaniel this year in the second season of Loki, which has already wrapped production. But, the crossover event Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, in which Majors is supposed to play the main villain, is still in pre-production, and at this moment, it’s hard to predict if he’ll keep the role before the filming starts.
Situations like these are always tricky. We still remember when Disney fired James Gunn over some decade-old tweets, although he was rehired again later, and his next and final MCU movie — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — is set to come out in May. After the second season, Gina Carano was fired from the Mandalorian series, and the character was written off. Hartley Sawyer, who played Ralph Dipny/The Elongated Man, was also fired by the CW from The Flash series.
On the other hand, Ezra Miller kept his role as Barry Allen/The Flash in the DCEU even after being arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment. True, even if he was fired, it would be too late now to recast him and reshot the movie since the movie is set to release in June, but it wasn’t even confirmed that The Flash will be his last movie in the franchise. And let’s not forget the most notorious example of all of them, the case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Depp’s fans are still furious that he lost his job in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean and WB’s Fantastic Beasts, and Heard allegedly still kept the role of Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, even after Heard was found guilty in all three matters of defamation that Depp raised against her.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is set to premiere in May 2025. Will it be with or without Jonathan Majors? Remains to be seen.
