At a recent, annual retreat, it has been reported Marvel discussed replacing Kang with Doctor Doom if Jonathan Majors has to be cut. The information comes from Variety, who must have had sources in the meet up. As you know, Jonathan Majors Kang has been set up as the big bad of this Multiverse Saga, that culminates In Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and then Avengers: Secret Wars. However, Majors is currently facing a trial for domestic abuse allegations. Though the star maintains his innocence, Marvel still has to wait for the trial.
Marvel is owned by Disney. The House of Mouse has a reputation for cutting anyone that could bring their family brand into disrepute. You can therefore see the potential dilemma here. Here is what Variety says about the situation.
‘At the gathering in Palm Springs, executives discussed backup plans, including pivoting to another comic book adversary, like Dr. Doom. But making any shift would carry its own headaches: Majors was already a big presence in the MCU, including as the scene-stealing antagonist in February’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” And he has been positioned as the franchise’s next big thing in this season of “Loki” — particularly in the finale, which airs on Nov. 9 and sets up Kang as the titular star of a fifth “Avengers” film in 2026.’
“Marvel is truly f****d with the whole Kang angle,” says one top dealmaker who has seen the final “Loki” episode. “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.”
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They also claim sources have said there was talk of moving away from Majors Kang irrespective of the legal issues.
‘A studio source notes that regardless of the actor’s legal issues, Marvel already had considered moving away from a Majors-led phase because of the box office performance of “Quantumania,” which will struggle to make a profit. “It gave people pause given that ‘Quantumania’ didn’t exactly land,” the source says. (On Oct. 27, Disney removed another Majors film, Searchlight’s “Magazine Dreams,” from the release calendar.)’
Strange one, as the one thing most fans liked about Quantumania was Kang. It was the rest of the plot and the bad special effects everyone complained about.
‘Recasting Majors is also an option, as Feige did when he replaced Terrence Howard in “Iron Man 2” with Don Cheadle. In fact, Marvel isn’t afraid to change direction, even after making splashy announcements.’
This is a viable answer and perhaps the simplest solution to them all. Problem is, Kang’s role seemingly was expanded because of how good Majors was. So who comes in to play that version and would the fans accept them?
This only scratches the surface of this Variety article folks. I’ll be covering more key details (about the future of Marvel) in other articles as I break it down. However, for all the drama about movies already out the door, please read the full article linked above.
What do you think of this news that Marvel discussed replacing Kang with Doctor Doom if Jonathan Majors has to be cut? Thoughts below as always.
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