Jonathan Majors Found Guilty of Assault and Harassment

Disney’s hopes of fixing Marvel just got a lot more complicated. Jonathan Majors, who starred as Kang the Conqueror in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault but acquitted on two other counts. Majors could face up to a year in prison. Judge Michael Gaffey said the sentencing will be announced on February 6. Majors will most likely appeal the Jury’s decision.

Related: Disney Has Majors Problem and No Good Way Out of It

Throughout the trial, the prosecution presented text and voice messages that allegedly showed a pattern of domestic abuse against his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors was arrested in March after he allegedly assaulted Jabbari in the backseat of a car. According to court testimony, Majors allegedly hit Jabbari in the head after she took his phone to view a text message from another woman.

Prosecutor Kelli Galloway alleged that Majors had a pattern of abusive behavior and was controlling and manipulative. She told the Jury in her closing statement:

What this really boils down to is four simple words: control, domination, manipulation and abuse. Those are the tactics used by those who commit domestic violence against partners, against Grace.

One of the texts that was revealed during the trial alleges that the Marvel star told Jabbari not to go to the hospital after an earlier incident. He told her that it would “just lead to an investigation.” Majors’ defense attorney, Priya Chaudhry, argued that it was the Ant-Man and the Wasp star that was assaulted that night in the car and not the other way around.

Thus far, Disney has stuck by Jonathan Majors, but it really has no choice. Majors is set to play the villain in the next two Avengers films, and Marvel has built the next generation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe around Majors’ Kang. But that was before Majors was found guilty. There is no way that Disney’s family-friendly brand will stand with a domestic abuser.

Marvel now has some serious decisions to make. It can either rewrite the next face of the MCU without Kang the Conqueror as the main villain. Still, that storyline has already started to take shape, or Marvel Studios can replace Jonathan Majors with another actor. Neither option is great.

Disney has already removed the Majors’ film, Magazine Dreams, from its slate of upcoming releases, which could be a sign of things to come. But as Bob Iger tries to fix Marvel, losing your main villain isn’t a good start, but what choice does Disney have?

With actor Jonathan Majors being found guilty of assault and harassment by a New York jury, it makes it more difficult for Disney to stick by him. The testimony, text messages, and police report paint a damning picture of the Creed III (2023) star. But an appeal is in the works that could take months, if not years, and one Manhattan jury has already found him guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment in the second degree.

With the guilty verdict, Disney must decide what to do about Avengers: Kang Dynasty and the rest of the MCU. Should Marvel continue without actor Jonathan Majors, or, as was the case with Johnny Depp, is the press from the trial just too much for Disney?

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.