Marvel Studios has parted ways with embattled actor Jonathan Majors hours after he was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault of his ex-girlfriend, according to Variety.
The actor was arrested in March on assaults and harassment charges after Grace Jabbari accused Majors of assaulting her in the backseat of a private car. Additionally, Majors was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree, Variety reported.
Spokespeople for Marvel and Majors’ representatives couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Majors has denied the allegations and said that Jabbari was the aggressor.
His departure creates a massive hole for Marvel, which had positioned Kang as the latest “Big Bad” similar to Thanos, ultimately serving as the primary antagonist to wrap up the last few year’s worth of Marvel shows and movies built around the idea of a multiverse. Majors played the multi-verse-hopping villain Kang and other “variants” in various Marvel projects, including the second season of Loki, which just concluded, and this summer Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Despite setting Kang up as the primary antagonist at the end of Quantumania, Marvel has considered moving away from the character and focusing on The Fantastic Four’s Doctor Doom as the big bad instead, according to an earlier Variety report. It’s unclear whether Marvel would pivot or recast the Kang with another actor. Shifting away from its original plan is tricky given the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s interconnected stories, where one change can have ripple effects on multiple projects. Avengers: Kang Dynasty is now being referred to as just Avengers 5, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
It’s the latest sign of trouble for Marvel, which has dealt with diminishing returns for its movies and shows, and a sense of fatigue and lack of enthusiasm for its projects. Its last film, The Marvels, boasted the lowest box office premiere in years, and its Secret Invasion show on Disney+ was critically slammed.
For Majors, the Marvel firing is the highest profile result of the actor’s arrest and charges. The actor’s talent management firm Entertainment 360 dropped him in April, and he’s lost several other projects and commercials.
It’s a stark contrast to the beginning of 2023, when he was one of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood, with Creed III and the then upcoming Ant-Man sequel coming out.
Image credit: Disney