Marvel's Boss Won't Even Call Jonathan Majors By His Real Name Anymore

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige reportedly does not use former MCU star Jonathan Majors' name when discussing him. Majors was initially a massive part of Marvel Studios' plans for the Multiverse Saga; his Kang the Conqueror was even lined up to be the main villain for Phases 4-6. In three appearances in theaters and on Disney+, the character's impact was more than palpable.

Speaking with ComicBook in July 2022 (just after revealing plans for the Multiverse Saga at San Diego Comic-Con), Feige reflected on how Majors "took over the Hall H stage...in the three minutes he was up there." He then explained how there was "nobody's shoulders [he'd] rather be putting the Multiverse Saga on" than the actor taking on Kang the Conqueror:

"It comes down to the cast and with Jonathan Majors, who I think took over the Hall H stage, you know, in the three minutes he was up there. It's amazing, and I said to him there's nobody's shoulders I'd rather be putting the Multiverse Saga on than his. It's really impressive what Jonathan Majors is able to do and all the different incarnations, variants, if you will, of Kang that we will see him do. It's really pretty cool."

Shortly ahead of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's debut in February 2023, Feige dove further into Majors' effect on the franchise with Entertainment Weekly. According to the Marvel President, Majors' Kang was "the highest-testing villain [they've] ever had" from screenings for friends and families, even without VFX added in. He saw the reaction from fans after Majors' work in Loki Season 1's finale, calling it a "big relief" when fans reacted so positively to his performance:

"And in the early days of 'Quantumania' [test audiences], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He's the highest-testing villain we've ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That's really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start. It's always one of the fun rolls of the dice that we do at Marvel, which is to say: 'Hey, we're going to make multiple movies around this character, and we're going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.' We really go all in on these ideas and this casting. It was a big relief when the season ender of 'Loki' season 1 happened. People really seem to be on board for Kang. People are chanting, 'Kang!' when Jonathan goes on talk shows, and they haven't even seen him in the movie yet!"

"This character could go anywhere," Feige detailed after Ant-Man 3's release in an interview with Marvel. For the man in charge of the MCU, the fun of it all was getting to "expect the unexpected:"

"The future is unwritten, and this character could go anywhere. It could clearly be anything, in any guise. Part of the fun when it comes to Jonathan and Kang is to expect the unexpected. All possibilities are on the table."

About a month after Ant-Man 3's release, Majors was arrested for assault and harassment. He was then found guilty on those same charges in December 2023, leading to Disney firing him from his role in the MCU and Marvel Studios moving away from Kang's storyline altogether.

In July 2025, Feige reflected on the change from Majors' Kang with The Hollywood Reporter but did not mention Majors by name. Feige explained that the team at Marvel had started moving away from Kang "before what had happened to the actor," saying he was not "big enough" and could not compare to Josh Brolin's Thanos. Feige began thinking about Dr. Doom and talking to Robert Downey Jr. about the character "before Ant-Man 3 even came out," detailing how long that plan was in the works before it was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2024:

"We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn't big enough, wasn't Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades. Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before 'Ant-Man 3' even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”

Almost eight months after Majors was fired at the end of 2023, Marvel confirmed Downey's return to the MCU as Victor Von Doom. He is now in line to take over the role Majors once had as Kang, serving as the ultimate antagonist for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to close out the Multiverse Saga.

Will Jonathan Majors Ever Return to the MCU?

While Majors has gotten some support in his attempt to revive his career following his arrest, Marvel seems to have moved on from both the actor and his role in the greater MCU. The studio is now going full speed ahead with plans for Downey's Doom to breathe life back into the story, particularly after Ant-Man 3 became one of the worst-received movies in recent MCU memory.

Asked about the idea of coming back to the MCU in April 2025, Majors did not hesitate in saying he would come back, expressing how much he enjoyed working with actors like Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). He did not seem to harbor any negative feelings towards Disney after the separation, expressing hope that a reunion may happen.

Unfortunately, considering Feige's reluctance to even utter Majors' name, that reunion seems about as close to an impossibility as possible. Marvel Studios seemed ready to move in a different direction even while Majors was still employed with Disney, and Doom appears ready to wreak havoc in the story on a level fans did not see from Kang.

While Majors hopes to revive his career with his work on movies like Magazine Dreams and Merciless, seeing him back in the MCU would be a shock.