Current:Home > InvestFastexy:Marvel universe drops Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror after conviction. Now what? -AssetTrainer
Fastexy:Marvel universe drops Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror after conviction. Now what?
TrendPulse View
Date:2025-04-10 15:09:13
NEW YORK − Marvel had more riding on FastexyJonathan Majors than perhaps any other actor. Now it’s parting ways with him, and throwing years of plans for its cinematic universe in disarray.
Shortly after the verdict, a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY that Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropped Majors from all future projects following the actor’s conviction for assault and harassment.
The swift move by Disney marked a stunning about-face for an actor who had been one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars. A Manhattan jury on Monday found Majors, 34, guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation for a March altercation with his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
Majors, who was acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment, will be sentenced on Feb. 6.
As the superhero studio prepared Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it cast the highly acclaimed Majors as the antagonist Kang the Conqueror. The character was expected to span several films and series as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next-phase answer to Thanos, the villain of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Majors had already appeared in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the first two seasons of TV's “Loki.” He was set to star in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” for release in May 2026.
The future of “The Kang Dynasty” is now unclear. Disney declined comment on whether it will recast the role of Kang or pivot in a new direction.
The studio has been preparing for the possibility of Majors’ exit from the franchise. But Marvel was limited in its ability to rewrite amid the screenwriters strike that ran from May to late September. The studio recently hired screenwriter Michael Waldron to rework “The Kang Dynasty.”
For Marvel, Majors’ departure adds to a series of recent setbacks. Though its box-office success − nearly $30 billion worldwide from 33 films − is unsurpassed in movie history, the superhero factory has recently seen some atypical struggles. “The Marvels,” released in November, has been the MCU’s worst performer in theaters, with $204 million in worldwide ticket sales.
Majors also recently starred as a troubled amateur bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams,” which made an acclaimed debut at Sundance Film Festival last January and was acquired by Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures. Following its premiere, an Oscar nomination for Majors was widely predicted.
“Magazine Dreams” had been expected to open in theaters Dec. 8. But ahead of Majors’ trial, Searchlight removed the film from its release calendar.
In late February. as “Creed III,” starring Majors alongside Michael B. Jordan, was being released, Majors spoke to The Associated Press in the neighborhood of Chelsea, just a few blocks away from where his fight with Jabbari would weeks later spill out onto New York streets.
Majors sounded acutely aware that his rapid new fame carried the risk of a downfall.
“Though I’ve not seen the boogeyman, I know it’s out there,” Majors told AP. “And I’ve been around to know it’s comin’. I won’t go down my rabbit hole of death, but it’s comin’. But you outrun it. You just stay out of the frame. I’ll stay out of the frame.”
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Brian Truitt, Edward Segarra and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
Jonathan Majors verdict:Marvel star found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend
veryGood! (54)
Related
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke earlier this month, is expected to make full recovery
- Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani wins reelection to Arizona US House seat
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- Secret Service Agent Allegedly Took Ex to Barack Obama’s Beach House
- Incredible animal moments: Watch farmer miraculously revive ailing chick, doctor saves shelter dogs
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- DWTS’ Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten Have the Best Reaction to Fans Hoping for a Romance
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Alexandra Daddario shares first postpartum photo of baby: 'Women's bodies are amazing'
- Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
- Amazon Prime Video to stream Diamond Sports' regional networks
- Record-setting dry conditions threaten more US wildfires, drinking water supplies
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Inflation ticked up in October, CPI report shows. What happens next with interest rates?
Colorado police shot, kill mountain lion after animal roamed on school's campus
US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
2 credit unions in Mississippi and Louisiana are planning to merge
US Diplomats Notch a Win on Climate Super Pollutants With Help From the Private Sector
Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder