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Credit: Marvel StudiosDisney left fans in shock after dropping a new Marvel special long thought to be canceled Wednesday morning, which featured the unexpected return of disgraced Kang the Conqueror actor, Jonathan Majors.
Related: Marvel Shifts Focus to Another Villain as Studio Tries to Fix Its Kang Problem
Marvel Studios has been radio silent about their ongoing Kang problem ever since Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York City in March for allegedly assaulting his longtime girlfriend. The actor is currently set to go on trial in August for assault and aggravated harassment, which could threaten to destroy what’s left of his already toppling career.
Majors, who received critical acclaim for his roles in The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) and HBO’s Lovecraft Country, made his MCU debut in Season 1 of the Disney+ Loki series as “He Who Remains,” a variant of Kang who offers Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) the chance to be his successor and rule over the Sacred Timeline. However, Sylvie murders him out of rage, thus plunging the Multiverse into chaos.
Kang the Conqueror then appeared in the ill-received Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), where he served as the primary antagonist against Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang (AKA Ant-Man), Hope Van Dyne (AKA The Wasp), and their family. Although the movie wasn’t exactly the triumphant start to the MCU’s Phase Five many hoped it to be, it did cement Majors’ Kang as a formidable villain, setting him up for a more prominent presence in the Multiverse Saga moving forward.
After news broke of his alleged domestic dispute, studios quickly dropped Majors from their advertising, with his talent representation even going as far as to drop him as a client. Majors was also scrubbed from Creed III (2023) at-home release marketing, with his career in Hollywood looking all but over.
Recasting rumors ran rampant as social media users began questioning his future in the superhero franchise, with some even sharing their “fan-casts” for his MCU replacement. As of now, Majors’ Kang remains a big question mark, but Marvel might’ve just extended an olive branch to the actor in their newest Disney+ special.
It looks like Marvel still refuses to address the elephant in the room regarding Kang. But after postponing their behind-the-scenes making of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania special, they decided to release it on their streaming service Wednesday morning. And aside from showcasing early script reads, bloopers, and new insights into the Ant-Man threequel’s creation direct from directors, writers, and VFX artists, it also featured an unexpected interview with Majors himself.
In their latest Assembled installment on Disney+, Marvel made a bold choice by including Majors in the behind-the-scenes documentary instead of editing him out, where he sits down to talk about the origins of Kang and his take on the infamous comic book villain. Although he only appears in a limited capacity, Majors does pop up throughout the episode, proving that Marvel isn’t ready to give up on him just yet.
“The Ant-Man franchise, within the MCU, has a very clear ethos, has a very clear rhythm to it,” said Majors during his brief interview in the Assembled special. “I had the benefit of stepping into a song that was already playing.”
Experience the making of Quantumania 🐜 Marvel Studios’ Assembled: The Making of #AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania is now streaming only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/mKbpleCCDC
— Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (@AntMan) July 19, 2023
Majors also spoke on his Kang costume design, where he explained the “mysticism” and the “power” of his character’s iconic suit over behind-the-scene test shots. Other than that, we don’t hear much else from Majors for the episode’s duration.
It seems like Marvel drastically cut down Majors’ involvement in the making of documentary, with the actor only getting roughly two or three minutes of one-on-one screen time. However, even though his time in the special was limited, it does make quite the statement, with the company seemingly not shying away from including Majors in new MCU projects—something that makes sense considering his role in the upcoming sophomore season of Loki.
It’ll be interesting to see how Marvel Studios addresses Majors’ controversy moving forward, especially with Victor Timely, a different Kang variant, set to pose a significant threat to Loki and the Time Variance Authority in Season 2. This plot thread was introduced in the post-credits scene of Quantumania, where the God of Mischief and TVA Agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) traveled back in time to watch his presentation at what looked to be a carnival or special exhibition. But weirdly enough, Majors was glaringly absent from early Loki footage screened during Disney’s Upfront Presentation in May.
It’s certainly too late for Marvel to turn around at this point in the game, with Loki Season 2 having been filmed prior to his arrest and currently on track for its October release date on Disney+. However, if the trial rules against Majors, the superhero studio might have time to fix things by recasting the character for the remainder of the Multiverse Saga, which will culminate in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
For now, it’s safe to assume that Marvel is playing the waiting game until the results of Majors’ trial are made public. And based on his recent appearance in Assembled: The Making of Ant–Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, it looks like the MCU will stand by him until then.
What do you think of Jonathan Majors’ unexpected appearance in the new Ant-Man special? Let us know in the comments below.