Jonathan Majors has been fired from Marvel Studios after a guilty verdict in his assault trial, leaving Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in limbo. Now, it looks like the film might not happen in its current form at all.
Earlier this week, Majors was convicted of assault and harassment, facing possible jail time for his abuse of former girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Now that the question of Majors’ guilt is settled, Marvel has severed ties with the actor.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources within Marvel are no longer calling the film The Kang Dynasty. Instead, they’re using the more generic “Avengers 5.” The Kang Dynasty is a reference to Majors’ character Kang the Conqueror, who has already appeared in three Marvel projects. Kang was slated to be the main villain of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, which spans phases 4, 5, and 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The placeholder hasn’t been officially confirmed by Marvel, and as of this writing, Marvel’s website still lists the film’s title as The Kang Dynasty, with a May 1, 2026 release date. However, ever since Majors’ arrest last spring, there has been speculation about whether Marvel would recast Kang or pivot away from the character entirely.
Marvel has recast characters before, and Marvel’s multiverse has already established that the same character can be played by different actors (for example, the three Peter Parkers in Spider-Man: No Way Home). However, a title change suggests that Marvel could be letting Kang go instead, with the movie shifting to a different plot entirely.
Avengers 5 was already in flux before Majors was fired. Although Jeff Loveness (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) was originally hired to write the screenplay and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) was slated to direct, both have left the project. Now, Michael Waldron (Loki season 1, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) has signed on to write the film.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Published: Dec 20, 2023 11:43 am