Disney in a Mouse trap with casting as Kang
THE fate of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing entertainment franchise in history, is being decided this month in a Manhattan courtroom.
That’s where Jonathan Majors, the 34-year-old actor who played Kang the Conqueror in 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” is on trial for misdemeanor assault and harassment after being accused by his ex-girlfriend, actress Grace Jabbari, of abusing her in the back seat of a chauffeured SUV in March.
He’s pleaded not guilty.
Studio’s options
His legal troubles and their optics are huge problems for Disney, because Kang is not just another one-off supervillain. The MCU’s sixth “phase,” or collection of several narratively connected films and TV series, is built largely around the all-powerful baddie.
Kang was a vital part of Season 2 of “Loki” on Disney+, and one upcoming movie due out in 2026 is even named for his bad guy: “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” Majors is also set to appear in “Avengers: The Secret Wars” the following year.
So Marvel Studios, which is also experiencing a worrisome box-office slump, is faced with three options: Rewrite, recast or remain.
Entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell told The Post that he believes Majors’ reputation — and blockbuster gig — is not 100% in jeopardy if the jury decides in his favor.
“His career has a chance of coming back — if there’s a ‘not guilty,’ ” Lovell said. “I know his management dropped him, and Disney pulled ‘Magazine Dreams’ from release. But trust me, they would love to release it. What happens in Hollywood is everybody gets really scared when things like this happen with their actors, but in the back of their minds they’re always hoping they can move forward because it’s money to them.”
The soonest “Kang Dynasty” would go into production is spring 2024, and, should Majors be found not guilty, Lovell said that could allow sufficient breathing room for Disney and the public to carry on as planned.
“What will happen is he’ll still be working [in indie films] and people will see him over the next two years. And then once people are going to those movies and those projects are getting seen, that will give comfort to the [major studios].”
However, while some reports claim Disney is “committed” to Kang, an insider told Variety they can’t imagine the studio continuing with the storyline.
“Marvel is truly f--ked with the whole Kang angle,” they said weeks before the trial began. “And they haven’t had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the WGA strike]. But I don’t see a path to how they move forward with him.”
But to avoid going back to the drawing board and tossing out years of carefully plotted films and TV series, Disney could opt to recast the part.
It’s easy to forget — with 15 years and 33 films under the MCU’s belt — that they have changed up big roles several times before. Edward Norton, who played Bruce Banner in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” has since been replaced by Mark Ruffalo. And Don Cheadle took over the part of Jim Rhodes from Terrence Howard in “Iron Man 2.”
But the studio would be losing a rising acting talent in Majors, who garnered Oscar buzz for his performance in “Magazine Dreams” after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was acclaimed for his turn as a twofaced boxer in “Creed III.” He was the only thing anybody liked about “Quantumania.”
Still, one Hollywood producer said Marvel would be fine without the actor. When asked in what ways Majors’ ordeal would affect the MCU, they said, “Nada.”
Lovell said confident defiance is key for famous individuals in such messy situations.
“They need to push back hard on the allegations and really fight for their reputation. This is what Majors is doing,” he said.
“He’s on the warpath. He’s doing a misdemeanor assault trial. He’s pushing back.”