A new report revealed the kind of actor the MCU could look for if it had to replace Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors.
After recently having made his Marvel Studios theatrical debut earlier this year in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Majors - whose Multiversal villain is being touted as the next big bad of the franchise - found himself in hot water after being arrested for alleged assault.
The actor remains adamant that "he's done nothing wrong," but that has not stopped Marvel Studios from "discuss[ing] potential options going forward" with the actor, something that could eventually result in Kang being fully recast.
While nothing is set in stone as Majors' case is ongoing, it seems that the MCU brass is amassing a contingency plan should they need to pull the chute.
Marvel Studios Looking at a Kang Replacement
According to insider Jeff Snieder, Marvel Studios is looking for a Damson Idris-type actor if it needed to replace Jonathan Majors as the MCU's Kang the Conqueror.
Speaking on The Hot Mic podcast, Sneider brought up Idris, who is set to play opposite Brad Pitt in Apple's upcoming movie set in the world of Formula One:
"Here’s one I wanted to talk about… Did you see who got cast in that Brad Pitt racing movie? … Damson Idris… I think he’s from Snowfall. And so that’s like a big part, right? That is the young, hotshot racer opposite Brad Pitt in this $150-200 million racing movie. That was a big deal that he got that."
He noted that the young talent would be the "kind of actor" the studio is looking at if "Jonathan Majors [gets] the boot as Kang:"
"And again, even though there hasn’t been any movement on the Jonathan Majors front, I’ve heard that’s the kind of actor, who, like, if Jonathan Majors got the boot as Kang, someone like Damson Idris is the type of the person that [Marvel] may look at to replace him if that, in fact, happens.”
Idris is an up-and-coming name in Hollywood, best known for his work on the FX drama Snowfall as well as the Netflix sci-fi film Outside the Wire.
Will Jonathan Majors Be Replaced As Kang?
Right now, Marvel Studios finds itself at a crossroads it never thought it would have to deal with.
The MCU invested significantly in Jonathan Majors, making the next half-decade within the franchise revolve around the actor and his Multiversal villain. And, because of this, it will not let Major go lightly, if it comes down to that. However, if it does, Marvel Studios has to be ready.
Luckily, Kang is a big bad that comes in all sorts of forms, with his near-infinite Variants. So a replacement, if needed, would not be something that would require too much narrative finagling.
If a replacement were needed, someone like Damson Idris would be a good pick. The young actor seems primed for a breakout (similar to how Jonathan Majors was when he was first cast).
Marvel Studios could grab Idris on the rise, then cash in on his newly acquired star-power by the time Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hits theaters in 2025. But if a move is going to be made, it will need to be made soon as more MCU projects go into production.
