After the launch of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Kang actor Jonathan Majors was arrested over a month later on March 25 on "several counts of assault in the third degree, three counts of attempted assault in the third degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, and one count harassment in the second degree,” according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
The 33-year-old actor is set to appear in court on Monday, May 8, which was scheduled when he was released from jail the night of his arrest.
Two recent reports have contradicted Marvel's reaction to Majors' arrest.
Insider Jeff Sneider explained on The Hot Mic podcast that "Marvel hasn't made any decisions regarding Jonathan Majors but they've met with or spoken to his agent to discuss potential options going forward." Furthermore, Sneider added that "someone like Damson Idris is the type of the person that [Marvel] may look at to replace him."
Conversely, Deadline reported that Marvel has not discussed recasting Majors' Kang character in future MCU projects.
Before Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige deals with possibly finding a replacement, Majors' next run as Kang is set to hit Disney+ this year in Loki Season 2.
Jonathan Majors' Significant Loki Season 2 Role
The introduction to Victor Timely (played by Jonathan Majors) in the Ant-Man 3 post-credits scene set up a major role for the actor in the second season of Loki.
As audiences already suspected due to the presence of Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Owen Wilson's Mobius, Quantumania director Peyton Reed confirmed that "it’s a scene from Season 2 of Loki."
A report set the expectations for Majors as Timely/Kang will appear in at least three episodes of the Disney+ series. The post-credits scene appears to be critical to the season, as this is seemingly the first time Loki and Mobius discover a variant of Kang since Slyvie killed He Who Remains at the end of Season 1.
Disney's Potential Trailer Changes
According to insider Grace Randolph, the Loki Season 2 trailer is ready to be released at any time, but could Marvel make adjustments?
The plan has been clearly made that Majors would be playing a massive role in the God of Mischief's second streaming season and would likely be promoted heavily leading up to the premiere.
However, in light of these recent events, Disney and Marvel Studios could wait until after Majors' May 8 court date to see the verdict and then proceed from there.
There's also a chance that the studio makes no adjustments and releases the trailer before May 8, as Majors' Kang was just heavily featured in a promotion for Quantumania being available to purchase digitally.
Loki Season 2's Further Marketing Changes
The future of Majors' career is currently trending in the wrong direction, despite nothing official from Marvel. The actor is being recast in an unannounced Otis Redding biopic and the upcoming adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel, The Man in My Basement.
Despite no official verdict in the court of law, Major may have already been ruled guilty in the court of public opinion.
Flaunting Majors after his stand-out performances in Creed III and Ant-Man 3 was certainly Marvel's plan for setting up the next season of Loki. In general, Majors is supposed to be (potentially) the most important actor within the MCU during the rest of the Multiverse Saga.
Suddenly, it may be wise to hold off on any Loki promotional material until Majors is officially found guilty or not guilty on his charges from March 25.
Marketing is one thing, but with a possible late summer or early fall release window, what could this mean for Majors' role in the series itself?
Could Loki Season 2 Be Significantly Edited?
Marvel Studios may soon be faced with some difficult decisions. If Majors is found guilty of the aforementioned charges of assault and harassment, a recast would (most likely) become imminent.
The issue with that theoretical direction is that Loki's second season featuring Majors as Kang/Victor Timely is already filmed. So what options would the studio have for its highly-anticipated Disney+ series?
Controversy is not new for Hollywood; in recent memory, actor Armie Hammer has been accused of abuse, sexual assault, as well as other misconduct. He has exited all upcoming projects since these reports began surfacing. Death on the Nile was Hammer's latest film released in 2022 but was filmed three years both before hitting theaters and the accusations against him.
Other forms of controversy have gotten actors fired as well. In a galaxy far, far away, The Mandalorian star Gina Carano did not return for a third season after her online posts implied that being a Republican today is almost like being Jewish during the Holocaust.
Similarly, relating back to comic book projects, The CW fired Hartley Sawyer from The Flash TV series in 2020 over tweets from 2014 that were deemed racist and misogynistic.
Speaking of The Flash, its star Ezra Miller (playing Barry Allen) was arrested several times in 2022. The actor has been accused of disorderly conduct, harassment, burglary, and other concerning accusations related to a farm in Vermont. However, Warner Bros. and DC are excited to release The Flash this June and appear confident that it will be a critical and commercial success, despite Miller's actions behind the scenes.
Will this be a similar strategy for Marvel? Loki is ready for launch and is too late for reshoots without a major delay that would cost the studio at least tens of millions of dollars.
If Majors is ultimately found guilty and becomes essentially canceled in the eyes of Hollywood, Marvel Studios could attempt to reduce his role in the upcoming series. Based on the overarching plot, Loki Season 2 could continue the imminent threat that Kang poses to the Avengers even if his on-screen role gets reduced.
The unfortunate truth is that this kind of decision would likely hurt the quality of the series because it's being made to reduce backlash and distance itself from an actor, not for the greater good of the show being produced.
Disney and Marvel have been quiet about the Jonathan Majors situation, likely waiting for more concrete decisions to be made, starting when he appears in front of a judge on May 8.
Depending upon how his legal situation unfolds, Majors could be a prominent part of marketing and remain the future of Marvel villainy on the big screen or will be fired, appear in Loki, but quickly recast for future projects such as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
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