While promoting the Amazon Prime release of Creed 3, the streamer has omitted one of the film's stars Jonathan Majors amid the actor's ongoing legal troubles.
After appearing in two of the most anticipated movies of the year, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Creed 3, and being heralded as one of the brightest rising stars in Hollywood, Majors found himself in handcuffs, being arrested and charged with assault in late March.
This arrest and ongoing investigation have caused the Creed actor to lose out on several opportunities he had set up, including major marketing campaigns and movies from a-list directors.
So much is up in the air with Majors' future on screen, causing the studios he has worked with or will work with to reevaluate their relationships with the actor until a verdict is rendered.
Jonathan Majors Left Out of Creed Marketing
Despite being one of the lead stars of Michael B. Jordan's Creed 3, Jonathan Majors was omitted from all of the marketing promoting the film's streaming release on Amazon's Prime Video service.
All social media posts advertising the boxing epic hitting the streamer have avoided showing Majors' Damian Anderson, who serves as the primary villain in the film.
Majors' involvement in the Creed threequel was a major focus of the film's pre-theatrical release marketing campaign. However, due to the ongoing assault case involving the actor, Amazon has opted to not include him in anything hyping up the film.
One tweet centered on the film's Prime release featured Majors' character, but he could only be seen from behind without his face visible to the viewer.
Instead of any of the spotlight going to Majors' Creed big bad, the streamer chose to focus on Michael B. Jordan's titular boxing champ, Tessa Thompson's Vanessa, and the pair's in-universe daughter Amara (played by Mila Davis-Kent).
What To Do With a Jonathan Majors Movie?
Being in the business of making/having made a Jonathan Majors movie is a tough go right now. As the actor's legal troubles continue, and a verdict remains unknown, studios who worked with the actors are sort of left to figure things out on their own.
Of course, there is no way to completely disconnect Majors from Creed 3, but this move from Amazon is about as good as one can do.
Marvel found themselves in a very similar spot with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, where the actor, who played Kang the Conqueror in the super-powered blockbuster, was still prominently featured in marketing for the film long after his arrest and subsequent assault charge.
What would be even more confusing for a studio to figure out is what to do with a Jonathan Majors-starring project that has not been released yet.
Marvel is seemingly weighing its options when it comes to the actor's future in the franchise, with his character being a substantial part of the upcoming second season of the Disney+ series Loki.
One film it will be interesting to keep an eye on is the upcoming bodybuilding drama Magazine Dreams starring the actor.
After rave reviews out of Sundance Film Festival, Magazine Dreams studio Searchlight Pictures announced a December release date for the movie. While the film is done and has been for quite some time, this pushing of release was done to give Majors the best chance at competing in this year's Oscars race.
However, now with the actor's ongoing legal battle, Searchlight is sort of left holding the bag, unsure if it can release a movie they think could take them to Osacrs glory.
Creed 3 is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
