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Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Marvel has discussed moving focus away from Jonathan Majors’ Kang for the Multiverse Saga.
One plan they’re looking at is pivoting to Dr. Doom.
At the gathering in Palm Springs, executives discussed backup plans, including pivoting to another comic book adversary, like Dr. Doom. But making any shift would carry its own headaches: Majors was already a big presence in the MCU, including as the scene-stealing antagonist in February’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” And he has been positioned as the franchise’s next big thing in this season of “Loki” — particularly in the finale, which airs on Nov. 9 and sets up Kang as the titular star of a fifth “Avengers” film in 2026.
“A studio source notes that regardless of the actor’s legal issues, Marvel already had considered moving away from a Majors-led phase because of the box office performance of Quantumania, which will struggle to make a profit,” reads part of the report. “‘It gave people pause given that ‘Quantumania’ didn’t exactly land,’ the source says.”
In a new report looking into Marvel Studios, Variety reported that, “regardless of” the legal issues Majors is facing, the company had reportedly already been considering moving away from him being a major focus in the MCU after the poor box office results of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which earned just over $470 million at the box office, a low figure for Marvel.
But this occasion was angst-ridden — everyone at Marvel was reeling from a series of disappointments on-screen, a legal scandal involving one of its biggest stars and questions about the viability of the studio’s ambitious strategy to extend the brand beyond movies into streaming. The most pressing issue to be discussed at the retreat was what to do about Jonathan Majors, the actor who had been poised to carry the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but instead is headed to a high-profile trial in New York later this month on domestic violence charges. The actor insists he is the victim, but the damage to his reputation and the chance he could lose the case has forced Marvel to reconsider its plans to center the next phase of its interlocking slate of sequels, spinoffs and series around Majors’ villainous character, Kang the Conqueror. Should Majors’ face more legal issues, Variety also notes that recasting Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror is also on the table. It wouldn’t be the first time a major character had to be recast (Terrence Howard was replaced in Iron Man 2 with Don Cheadle), and Variety even notes that the company has changed direction after making big announcements in the past.
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