After a weeks-long trial, a New York jury found MCU star Jonathan Majors guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment. The verdict was announced on Monday after the six-person jury deliberated for four hours spread over three days, The Hollywood Reporter said. Not two hours after the verdict was announced, Marvel Studios publicly announced Majors that has been fired (per Deadline). Our hearts go out to his victims.
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The announcement was a long time coming, and even if he had been found not guilty of all charges, having an actor who’s stood trial for such charges would have probably been enough for Disney and Marvel to move on from him. Even putting aside the charges, there’s always going to be that damning Rolling Stone blockbuster piece that featured 30 people from the actor’s past going on and off the record about how dangerous of a personality Jonathan Majors really was.
The sentence will be announced on February 6. Majors could face up to one year in prison. He was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree. Majors’ lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement: “Mr. Majors still has faith in the process and looks forward to fully clearing his name.”
The actor was once supposed to be a major Oscar contender for this year with his performance in Magazine Dreams. Searchlight paid big money for that at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and they were probably planning to unload another $20-30M into a marketing campaign and an awards push for Majors. Now the film has been taken off Disney’s schedule. But of course, there’s an even more important movie to Disney starring Jonathan Majors at this point…
WHAT DOES THE JONATHAN MAJORS SITUATION MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF MARVEL STUDIOS?
There are obviously bigger conversations to be had at this point surrounding this whole situation, but it is not our place. With regards to the entertainment and geek world, the obvious question we have to answer now is what will happen to Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Here’s something important to keep in mind: whatever the answer is, Kevin Feige probably already knows, and the decision was likely made months ago. After all, they didn’t put Michael Waldron in charge of Avengers 5 before the Majors trial for no reason. There are two possible scenarios at this point. Either Kang (and his variants) get recast, or they move away from his storyline entirely.
Let’s explore the recasting possibilities. The Multiverse storyline definitely sets up a more than logical explanation for another actor to take over the role. Names like John Boyega or John David Washington sound very appealing, and should they decide to go the big studio route, there’s a lot for them to sink their teeth into here, as Majors proved this past year.
At this point, they only have the post-credits scene of Quantumania going against them (the one that featured dozens of different Kang variants, all played by Majors), but they’ve gotten away with bigger stuff in the past, like the pre-Infinity War Thanos or the constant killing and resurrecting of characters.
There’s also the issue of additional cameos in future series. Did Jonathan Majors film cameos in Ironheart or Agatha, and that’s why those shows have suffered multiple delays? Those details have not yet surfaced.
Then there’s the pivoting away from Kang argument. Doctor Doom has appeared as a solid possibility here, and the end of Loki season 2 could be revisited as Marvel closing the chapter of Kang. This seems unlikely, though, as from all indications the studio is heavily invested in this storyline and they have set up plenty of stuff throughout multiple projects that they have plans to pay off at one point or another. Or at least we hope so.
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It will be interesting to see how these events play out. For now, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is slated for a May 2026 release. The next one, Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled for a May 7, 2027 release date.
But what do you think about Jonathan Majors’ sentence? What option do you think Marvel will choose? Or is there a third one we’re missing here? Let us know your thoughts on our social media, and stay tuned for more on this developing topic!
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline
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