Marvel did not plan to center the next few Phases of the franchises around Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror until they saw his performance in the Disney+ series, Loki. A decision that they may come to regret. According to author Joanna Robinson, who is currently working on the upcoming book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (via The Ringer's The Big Picture podcast), it was after seeing Majors in Loki and the dailies for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that they decided to put him at the center of the MCU.
"I was told by someone who works for Marvel, it was not the plan to make Kang the center of everything until they saw the dailies from 'Quantumania' and after his performance in 'Loki,' which was so strong they were like, 'This is it. This is our way forward. We’ve lost our varsity hero team, but let’s set up around this guy Kang and this performer that so many people are reacting to.”
After losing several of their original stars and characters, including Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, Marvel seemingly turned to Majors’ villain as the saving grace. A decision that could prove difficult following the recent ongoing assault allegations.
“We know this is a huge problem for them that they are facing and grappling with right now. And what’s unprecedented in this for Marvel is, I would argue they have never hung so much of a franchise on one actor, as they tried to hang it on Jonathan Majors after his 'Loki’ performance and his 'Ant-Man: Quantumania' performance.”
Jonathan Majors Is Now Facing Multiple Accusations
Majors was arrested back in March on assault, strangulation and harassment charges. Since then, reports have stated that Majors is now a suspect in several cases of assault and abuse, with the actor being dropped by his management company and public relations firm, as well as several projects including a commercial campaign for the United States Army.
"I would argue more than Downey as Iron Man, more than Brolin as Thanos, that hanging everything on this guy is then going to pop up in all of their properties leading up to something called 'The Kang Dynasty' has put them in a very unusual position. They don’t usually hang this much on one person in the way that they did here. And that has put them in the bind. We do not know what they are going to do. I’ve hear conflicting stories about they are going to replace him, they’re not even considering replacing him etc etc. But it’s just one more thing.”
What Marvel plans to do regarding Jonathan Majors and his prominent role in the MCU remains unknown, with reports claiming that the studio is waiting to see the outcome of the court case in June. Other reports meanwhile have claimed that Marvel has already made up their minds, and that Loki season two will clear up what they have decided to do.
The MCU is currently in Phase Five, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 out now in theaters. As it stands, Kang will return in several upcoming projects, with his role culminating in Phase Six’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty on May 2, 2025, and Avengers: Secret Wars on May 1, 2026.