Disney/Marvel/Everett Collection
Jonathan Majors is not from the Marvel Studios kingdom.
The news comes today after the Emmy-nominated actor was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment in his domestic violence trial before a six-member New York jury.
A studio representative confirmed the news about their decision not to continue with the majors in the MCU.
Majors played the megavillain He Who Remains, also known as Kang the Conqueror, in phases four through six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Majors debuted as the character in the first season of Loki in 2021 and then continued into the second season this year, as well as the February film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which grossed over $476 million. The majors also had back-to-back hits in March with Amazon MGM's Creed III, which grossed over $275 million.
After sticking with the actor over the months since his March 25 arrest, WME continues to represent the majors. His longtime agent Elan Ruspoli testified briefly in Majors' defense last week as the final witness in the nearly two-week trial
He Who Remains was set to become a major villain in Phases 5 and 6 of the MCU, and the character got his own film, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, scheduled for May 1, 2026. The director of this film, Shang Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton, recently left the film due to his busy dance schedule on other Marvel projects. What remains unclear is whether Marvel will retain Kang's character while recasting the role with another actor. Michael Waldron was recently tapped to write the script for Avengers: Kang Dynasty; This came after it was set in the Phase 6 finale, “Avengers: Secret Wars.” The first season showrunner of Loki has been brought on board to give these Avengers films a fresh take given the situation here with the Majors.
The Loki season 2 finale seemed to leave the fate of Kang the Conqueror and his variant up in the air. This isn't the first time the studio has had to swap out actors for a particular role. Very early in the MCU, Terrence Howard was cast as Rhodey in Iron Man. Talks with Howard about the sequel fell through and Don Cheadle took over the role in the MCU; the actor first played him as Rhodey in this year's Disney+ series Secret Invasion.
Before his arrest in March for his alleged attack on his girlfriend Grace Jabbari, Majors was preparing for a banner 2023. Before the tentpoles “Ant-Man 3” and “Creed III,” Majors received rave reviews for the Sundance drama “Magazine Dreams,” in which he played a troubled amateur bodybuilder. The film was booked by Searchlight for a December 8 theatrical release and awards season run, but was removed from the theatrical schedule by the Disney-owned label in October. The fate of the picture and whether it will stream on Hulu remains unclear.
Shortly after his arrest in March, Majors was fired by his manager, 360 Entertainment, and publicist, The Lede Company. The actor, who received a Primetime Emmy Drama nomination in 2021 for HBO's “Lovecraft Country,” has also been dropped from countless projects, including Protagonist Pictures' feature adaptation of the Walter Mosley novel “The Man in My Basement,” an advertising campaign for the Texas Rangers MLB team, as well as the unannounced Otis Redding season five biopic that the actor was circling.
Justin Kroll, Dominic Patten and Sean Piccoli contributed to this article.