Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror: will Marvel role be recast as actor dropped by management

Marvel’s latest star Jonathan Majors could see his stint in the multi-billion dollar franchise cut short as he faces domestic abuse charges in court next month. Majors could lose out on millions of dollars as a result if Marvel does decide to recast the role of Kang the Conqueror, who Majors has so far played in two MCU projects. 

Whilst Marvel has remained tight-lipped about any contingency plans as Majors’ trial date grows closer, the name of a potential candidate to step into the star’s shoes has surfaced. 

Majors recently starred in Rocky spin-off Creed III, collecting around $200,000 for the role of Damian Anderson, and he also made an estimated $550,000 for MCU big-screen debut as Kang the Conqueror.

It’s likely that Majors would make considerably more from future MCU appearances (Paul Rudd’s salary for playing Scott Lang rose from $300,000 in the first Ant-Man film to $8 million in Quantumania), meaning that if Marvel does drop the actor he could miss out on more than $10 million in potential earnings for sequels.

Why has Jonathan Majors been dropped by his management?

Majors was arrested in Manhattan last month and was charged with assault and harassment. The alleged victim, a 30 year old woman, was taken to hospital with minor injuries to her head and neck. New York police officers had responded to a 911 call around 11am on 25 March and believed that Majors had been involved in a domestic dispute with the woman - Majors was taken into custody.

Following his arrest, Majors’ representative released a statement from his lawyer stating that the victim had recanted the allegations, adding: "Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever.”

Majors was later released on bail and is due to appear in court on 8 May where he is expected to contest the charges. 

The United States Army suspended a series of recruiting adverts starring Majors after news of his arrest broke, confirming that the ads will not be shown whilst the investigation into his alleged crimes is ongoing.

Deadline reported yesterday (17 April) that Majors had been dropped by his management, Manager Entertainment 360 over the allegations. It remains unclear whether Majors will continue in his role in the MCU.

Will Kang the Conqueror role be recast due to domestic abuse allegations?

Kang the Conqueror is set to be the focal villain of the next wave of Marvel films, first appearing in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, played by Majors. Kang is a supervillain with plans to conquer as many worlds as he can get his hands on.

In Quatumania he was twice banished to the Quantum Realm, though he is set to appear in several future Marvel films. Kang has taken over from Thanos as the newest multi-film villain and the next phase of the MCU has been built around the character.

This makes the allegations surrounding a Majors a tricky subject for Marvel Studios to navigate. Currently, there has been no confirmation that Majors will not continue to star in future Marvel projects, however, if he is found guilty of the assault and harassment charges he faces next month, this could soon change.

Majors, who also played Kang in season one of Marvel Disney+ series Loki, has already shot his scenes for the second season. He is due to have major roles as the supervillain in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars, although both of these projects have not yet entered production.

Who could replace Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror?

Speaking on the Hot Mic podcast, Marvel Insider Jeff Sneider suggested that Majors could be replaced and named one contender.

He pointed to Damson Idris, known for the leading role of Franklin Saint in FX crime drama Snowfall, as a possible replacement.

Sneider said: “I’ve heard that’s the kind of actor, who, like, if Jonathan Majors got the boot as Kang, someone like Damson Idris is the type of the person that [Marvel] may look at to replace him.”