Jonathan Majors, who was cast in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the antagonist Kang, was released by Marvel Studios on December 18 following his conviction on December 18 for two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. The studio’s close associate verified to Variety the decision.
Majors was acquitted of one count of premeditated assault in the third degree and one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, according to the verdict.
On March 25, the actor, Majors, was apprehended on charges of assault and harassment. Jabbari lodged the allegation that Majors assaulted her in the backseat of a private vehicle subsequent to her stealing his phone to read a text message from another woman. Jabbari made an accusation that Majors forcibly retrieved his phone from her, resulting in a “excruciating” injury to her right middle finger. Furthermore, she claimed that Majors struck her on the back of the head as she departed the vehicle and then attempted to force her back inside, causing a cut behind her right ear.
The actor, aged 34, refuted any allegations of assaulting Jabbari. According to his defense, she was the aggressor when she stole his phone.
A series of distressing text messages and an audio recording exchanged between Majors and Jabbari were made public by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office throughout the nearly two-week trial. The evidence included messages in which Majors allegedly attempted to dissuade Jabbari from seeking medical attention for a head injury and one in which he threatened suicide. Majors instructs Jabbari in the audio recording to emulate the conduct of Michelle Obama and Corretta Scott King, stating that he is “a great man” who is “doing great things, not only for me, but for my culture and the world.”
Majors has been dismissed by his talent manager, Entertainment 360, and his public relations firm, the Lede Company, subsequent to his arrest. There has been no further development of his involvement with the Protagonist Pictures film “The Man in My Basement.” Majors was also the subject of a significant advertising campaign by the Texas Rangers baseball team and the United States Army. Several other projects involving Majors are currently in a state of uncertainty, such as the Dennis Rodman film “48 Hours in Vegas” for Lionsgate and Spike Lee’s “Da Understudy” for Amazon.
However, Marvel’s separation from the actor stands as the most prominent professional repercussion of Majors’ apprehension and subsequent conviction to this point. In the season finale of the 2021 Disney+ series “Loki,” he debuted as a version of the multiverse-hopping antagonist Kang. This episode laid the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole and positioned Majors’ character as the central figure in that narrative engine.
Marvel created an infinite number of Kang variations throughout the multiverse. An investigation into this premise was initiated in Marvel’s February feature film “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Majors was intended to represent each of them. The actor subsequently portrayed Victor Timely, a variant of Kang, in Season 2 of “Loki,” which debuted on Disney+ in the autumn. (The series’ production was completed months prior to his incarceration.) It was originally anticipated that “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” the first installment of the climactic conclusion to the Multiverse Saga, would commence production in early 2024. Majors was slated to star in that film. Marvel delayed the release of the film from 2025 to 2026 in June.
According to Variety, Marvel executives, led by studio chief Kevin Feige, deliberated whether it would be necessary to shift their attention from Kang to another key antagonist. Feige and his team are confronted with some formidable creative decisions in light of Majors’ official departure, including whether to recast Kang with a different actor or terminate “The Kang Dynasty” and restructure the remainder of the Multiverse Saga. Due to the interconnectedness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, any decision made by Marvel at a time when its parent company, Disney, has entered a considerably more cost-conscious era could have significant financial repercussions.
Majors’ professional repercussions might be even more severe. He entered 2023 as one of the most sought-after actors in the industry, co-starring with Michael B. Jordan in “Creed III” and receiving critical acclaim for his performance in the bodybuilding drama “Magazine Dreams” at the Sundance Film Festival. An additional Disney subsidiary, Searchlight Pictures, acquired the latter film in October with the intention of releasing it in December as a potential Oscars contender. However, the company unexpectedly canceled the release in October. Unknown at this time is a revised release date.
