Disney Delays 'Avengers' Movie After Firing Actor, Report Says

The newest Avengers movie may be delayed for a longer period of time following a reported change from Disney.

Marvel Studios first began crafting the idea for The Avengers back in 2009 when The Walt Disney Company purchased the studio with the intention of bringing several marquee heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as we refer to it today. The result was a major success that has drawn billions of dollars at the box office and included many major stars along the way, and we’re just now getting into Phase 5.

Marvel Studios’ The Avengers (2012), of course, was the film that really laid the groundwork for the entire plan to come into motion. The film gave fans something to look forward to as they saw Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, and others introduced to the organization, and when the movie was released, it brought in an impressive $1.5 billion. Since that point, Disney and Marvel have built off that success.

The original Avengers team featured Captain America / Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans), Iron Man / Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), Hulk / Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff (played by Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye / Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner). Since the first film, however, many other heroes have been added to the team, including the likes of Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and War Machine (Don Cheadle), to name a few.

At the end of Phase 3, we officially said goodbye to Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. with Avengers: Endgame (2019), a movie that produced nearly $2.8 billion, and moved forward into Phase 4 of the MCU with new faces taking leadership positions.

The next Avengers films, are titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel recently announced that it would be delaying these films by a year, and many assumed that a major reason why had to due with the ongoing WGA strike in Hollywood.

Of course, this is one of the reasons, but another report indicates that Disney may be trying to buy some time to fill the role of a controversial star. Jonathan Majors is an actor who has made a significant impact in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He portrayed the character Kang the Conqueror, in which he first appeared in the Disney+ series Loki. From there, Majors portrayed the character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was released earlier this year, and he was expected to have a significant role in each of the next two Avengers movies, especially the title film.

But, that might not be the case after all.

GFR reports that Disney may be looking to recast the character. In March of this year, Majors was arrested on domestic abuse charges following allegations from an unnamed woman. Later reports claimed that Majors pushed her into a car and that she was taken to the hospital with “minor injuries.” Majors’ attorneys have stated that the actor denies any wrongdoing and that he looks forward to clearing his name in court.

Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” his legal team said. “We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”

Despite this statement, there has been a fair amount of backlash from fans against the actor. It was reported earlier this week that Ant Man 3′s episode of Assembled, which was set to land on Disney+ on June 14, 2023, has been pushed back. While Disney didn’t give a reason for this delay, many have speculated that it may have to do with the controversy surrounding Majors.

It’s important to remember that nothing has been confirmed and that this report is just speculation currently.