Disney Drops Marvel Star Following Guilty Verdict
On December 18, Marvel actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment in a New York City courtroom. The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) star had been arrested back in March for assaulting his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabarri. The actress claimed that the two had gotten into an argument and Majors had tried to strangle her and break the bones in her hands.
Though his lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, Majors denied the claims, saying that there was evidence that would prove his innocence. Ms. Chaudhry also said that her client was the victim of a “witch hunt,” and that the New York District Attorney had changed the charges when Ms. Jabarri allegedly changed her story about the assault.
Despite Majors’ claims that the evidence he had would clear his name, it appeared that the jury did not believe whatever evidence he presented. The jury found Majors guilty of third-degree assault and harassment in the third-degree.
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Less than an hour after Majors was found guilty, Variety shared that The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios were parting ways with the actor:
Marvel Studios has parted ways with Jonathan Majors — the actor cast to play Kang, the central antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — after he was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault of Grace Jabbari, his ex-girlfriend. A source close to the studio confirmed the decision to Variety.
Majors began his career with Disney and Marvel when he appeared as Kang the Conqueror in the final episode of season one of Loki (2021). Kang was set to be Marvel’s new ultimate villain after Thanos. Majors returned as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as well as playing a much larger role in Loki season two.
Majors was only set to get bigger from there. In fact, he was set to have an entire movie — Avengers; The Kang Dynasty — dedicated to his character. The movie is set to be released in 2026.
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Marvel will now have to decide what they want to do with Kang. Now that the Multiverse is open and timelines have been skewed, it is possible that they could decide to recast Majors and the new Kang will be one from another dimension.
Marvel President, Kevin Feige, and Co. could also decide to scrap the movie altogether, though that seems less likely. If they have a script and a story that they love, recasting is probably the best option.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was not the only project Majors had in the works with Disney. He was also set to star in Magazine Dreams from Searchlight Pictures — a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. After Majors’ arrest, Disney pulled the film from its slate — it was supposed to be released December 8 — and has not announced a new release date.
Do you agree with Disney and Marvel’s decision to drop Jonathan Majors? Let us know in the comments!
