Marvel Studios May Not Recast Jonathan Major’s Kang

In a surprising report, Marvel Studios may not be recasting Jonathan Majors as Kang even though they are moving forward without the actor.

Today marks a significant shift in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After three days of deliberation, a New York City jury found actor Jonathan Majors guilty of one count of assault and one count of harassment. In response, Marvel Studios and Disney decided to move forward without the Lovecraft Country (2020) actor.

Naturally, this puts Marvel Studios in a precarious position. Not only were things already difficult with the studio’s worst box office year in recent memory, but now they’ll be without their central villain, Kang, who had been portrayed numerous times by Majors in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and Loki (2022-2023)

Related: Confirmed: Disney Officially Removes Star Jonathan Majors After Court Decision

Now, the time has come to determine the next step for the media juggernaut. And if recent reports are to be believed, it looks like Kevin Feige and Marvel may have already made their decision regarding the Jonathan Majors problem.

Marvel Studios Already Drastically Changing Phase Six Plans

Related: Marvel Admits Defeat, Announces New Version of the MCU

In an article from The Hollywood Reporter, it was reported that Marvel has made a major change in its next Avengers film, changing the title from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to simply Avengers 5 (2026). There has been no word on if a similar change happened for Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

While this doesn’t set any plans in stone, it does seem to signify that Marvel has made the choice to move away from the Kang character entirely, instead focusing on a new villain for the likes of Captain America, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Thor to take on.

Related: 11 Actors Who Could Replace Jonathan Majors as Kang in the MCU

Of all the potential villain options, the favorite for fans online is easily Doctor Doom. The arch-nemesis of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom is one of the most recognized villains in any Marvel comic. With the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, it would only make sense to slip him into Kang’s slot.

That being said, it would probably be easier to just recast the actor who is playing Kang. Marvel has already recast numerous actors, with Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard as Rhodey/War Machine and Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk. Whichever direction it heads in, the MCU is about to significantly change.

How do you think Marvel Studios should handle the Jonathan Majors situation? 

This post is originally appeared on Inside the Magic.