The multiverse is broken, and in more ways than one. As Marvel Studios continues to face uncertainty in the wake of the highly-successful Infinity Saga, one of its biggest obstacles to tackle would be the implications of Jonathan Majors‘ recent actions. The up-and-rising actor was pipped as a promising prospect after playing Kang the Conqueror in the first season of Loki (and subsequently, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), but his arrest in March this year threw a wrench into the studio’s plans.
According to Variety, Marvel Studios executives considered scrapping the character altogether, and bringing in Doctor Doom to helm Phase 5 and 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the new big bad. Although Majors has maintained his innocence, the company is reportedly still exploring other options due to his damaged reputation, or in the case that he loses the trial.
It won’t be an easy feat, though. The final episode of Loki Season 2 only serves to cement his position in the MCU, with a dealmaker telling Variety that “Marvel is truly f**ked with the whole Kang angle”.
“They haven’t had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the writers’ strike]. But I don’t see a path to how they move forward with him,” they said. Indeed, Kang was established to be the MCU’s main villain for the next several years, becoming the Thanos equivalent post-Avengers: Endgame era.
The Doctor Doom angle does make sense on a certain level, considering how the the character would be a good fit with Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot, which is expected to begin filming in spring 2024.
Majors was arrested on 25 March under charges of strangulation, assault and harassment after a domestic dispute. In April, he was dropped by his talent manager Entertainment 360 and PR firm The Lede Company. The actor’s lawyer, however, maintains his innocence, saying in a statement released to IGN in August: “For an excruciating four months, Jonathan Majors, the real victim in this shameful ordeal, has had his life, career, and reputation torn apart. Yet he remains unwavering in his determination to be absolved from this harrowing ordeal.”
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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