New reports have seemingly revealed Jonathan Majors' MCU Kang the Conqueror replacement. However, the exciting news may not be what fans think.
After appearing in Marvel Studios' Loki and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, everything looked as though Majors was set to become the super-powered franchise's next villainous superstar.
That plan would, however, that plan would take a significant detour in late March 2023, as the Kang actor was charged with and then eventually found guilty of assault.
This has caused the studio to pivot away from Majors, whether that be with a replacement actor or a wholly new villain entirely.
Has Marvel Found Its Kang Replacement?
Fans are doubting the authenticity of recent reports saying Marvel Studios has found its replacement actor for Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.
The reports originate from a mysterious press release that popped up online from the little-known Z News Service.
Seemingly revealing the major Marvel Studios announcement, the press release in question wrote that actor Keenan Clarke was set to take over from Majors as the Multiversal MCU big bad.
However, the release is very clearly fake.
Clarke has no major acting credits to his name, which was one of the things that tipped fans off to the potential disingenuous nature of the report.
Also - as reported by Dexerto - the source of the press release itself does not look to be reputable at all.
Calling itself a "leading news website that provides its readers with up-to-date and reliable information" in its bio on X (formerly Twitter), Z News Service has a minuscule social following, with a mere 19 followers on the Elon Musk-owned social platform.
One would assume a news organization given the trust of Marvel to exclusively announce or report on such a major news event, would have a much broader reader base and be more well-known amongst the general masses.
What Will Marvel Do With Kang?
All of this comes as Kang's future in the MCU remains a significant unknown.
According to a February 2024 report from The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios was seemingly retooling their plans for the franchise to move away from Kang as a character, minimizing his role going forward and retitling (the then-named) Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
This could mean the MCU brain trust may opt to not recast Kang at all, simply cutting the character from any plans and moving on.
Keenan Clarke's name has not been brought up in the Kang conversation before this. Several actors have been potentially connected to the character, but Clarke has not been one of them.
One popular Kang fan re-cast, Them: The Scare star Luke James, offered a simple "no" when asked by The Direct in a June 2024 conversation whether he would be interested in taking over the role:
"Marvel as a whole? Yes. Kang the Conqueror? No. But I wouldn't not not take the meeting. There are so many brilliant characters, because I mean, it's so many characters. There are so many characters I would love a take at."
This could be a further indication that Kang as a character may not be in the plans for the MCU going forward.
Avengers 5 (formerly titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) is set to be released on May 1, 2026.
Read more about Jonathan Majors and Kang the Conqueror:
Marvel's Kang Actor Recasting: New Update on Jonathan Majors' Replacement Revealed by Insider
Will Kang Be Recast? Here's What's Marvel Will Most Likely Do
Loki Season 3 Could Solve Marvel Studios' Kang Problem Perfectly
Disney Confirms Avengers 5 Title Change Reports Following Jonathan Majors Firing
