Jonathan Majors talks about his Kang the Conqueror being replaced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Majors played all the Kang variants in the MCU, which included a few in Disney+’s Loki and the Council of Kangs in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Initially set up to be the main villain of the Multiverse Saga, Majors was fired from the MCU, with Marvel recently announcing that Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, which was previously titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Speaking to TMZ, Jonathan Majors revealed he is heartbroken about Kang being replaced by Doctor Doom.
The actor said he loves Kang, and while he is heartbroken, Majors thinks “Doctor Doom is wicked.” The former MCU actor also revealed that he is open to returning as Kang the Conqueror in the future, should Marvel and the fans want him to. At the moment, it seems like Kang will just be pruned from the Marvel movie timeline without further appearances. Check out the full quote below:
“Yeah, heartbroken. Of course. I love Kang. Doctor Doom is wicked, though.
I think it’s fair that Mr. Downey is being and has been greeted with patience and curiosity and love. And [he’s] being allowed to work [his] art and be creative at that level. I didn’t really get that.”
Asked about possibly returning as Kang the Conqueror in the future:
“Hell yeah! Hell yeah! I love him. I love Kang. If that’s what the fans want, and that’s what Marvel wants, then let’s roll. Hell yeah.”
Why Marvel Replaced Kang With Doctor Doom
Jonathan Majors’ Situation Explained
Majors was the most important actor in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, playing Kang the Conqueror and all of the villain’s multiverse variants. In March 2023, Majors would be arrested for an alleged assault following an altercation with his girlfriend. That process would evolve during the course of the next few months, with more alleged abuse victims coming forward against Majors, who was dropped from projects. In December 2023, Majors’ trial would conclude with the actor found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault. Marvel dropped Majors shortly after the verdict was reached.
Parallel with the need to move on from Majors, Marvel Studios had already been considering pivoting to another villain. The reason for that was Kang’s big MCU debut, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, underperformed at the box office. With the reaction to Kang’s debut film being underwhelming, it was reported that Marvel Studios had been considering Doctor Doom and other villains as replacements for Kang.
In the end, Doctor Doom was the chosen villain to take over for Kang in the MCU. In order to replace Majors, Marvel went after the MCU’s biggest star, with Robert Downey Jr. announced to play Doom in Avengers: Doomsday — originally The Kang Dynasty — and Avengers: Secret Wars. At the moment, Marvel has yet to reveal if the MCU will explain how the Council of Kangs will be removed from the upcoming Avengers movies. Based on RDJ’s casting as Doom, Jonathan Majors‘ hope to play Kang again will likely remain just that.
