Credit: Marvel StudiosThe former star has spoken out about his role as Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As Marvel Studios moves through Phase Six, which began with the highly anticipated arrival of the Fantastic Four this past summer, new details about the franchise’s future are emerging.
Following confirmation that Robert Downey Jr. will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a new role—Victor Von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom—attention has naturally turned back to the previous major villain, Kang the Conqueror. While Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has addressed the future of the MCU and Kang’s involvement, it appears the character’s fate had already been sealed long before.
Since Avengers: Endgame (2019), the MCU has faced a series of challenges in maintaining its box office dominance. While Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) delivered strong results, other recent titles, including 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, have failed to meet the financial expectations typically associated with the franchise.
Complications escalated two years ago when Jonathan Majors, who portrayed Kang across several appearances, became embroiled in a high-profile legal case. Once positioned as the MCU’s next central antagonist, Majors was removed from the franchise after facing charges from his ex-partner, Grace Jabbari, who accused him of battery, assault, malicious prosecution, and defamation.
Marvel’s response was swift. During San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Feige announced that Anthony and Joe Russo would return to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled for release in December 2026 and 2027, respectively. The announcement effectively ended the Kang Dynasty storyline, setting up Doctor Doom as the new overarching threat in the Multiverse Saga.
Robert Downey Jr. Returns as a New Villain
Fans were taken by surprise when Robert Downey Jr.—fresh from his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer (2023)—was unveiled as Victor Von Doom live on stage. The move marks a dramatic reinvention for the actor best known as Tony Stark/Iron Man and signals a bold narrative shift for Marvel Studios.
Marvel has remained characteristically quiet about when and how Doom will come into the MCU, though he did appear briefly in the post-credits of The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). But as excitement builds for Doom’s proper arrival, the question remains: what happens next with Kang?
The last time audiences saw the time-traveling villain was his Variant, Victor Timely, in Loki Season 2. Before that, Kang clashed with Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Would Marvel quietly retire the character—or reintroduce him with a new actor?
Kevin Feige Confirms the Shift from Kang to Doom
Speaking with select members of the press, Kevin Feige clarified that Marvel had already begun moving away from Kang before Majors’ legal troubles surfaced.
“We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades,” Feige said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang,” he continued. “And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”
Not everyone within Marvel’s creative ranks agrees with Feige’s version of events. X-Men ’97 writer and former showrunner Beau DeMayo—who was dismissed after Season 1—took to social media to challenge the narrative. “In 2023, I was working on Season 2 of #xmen97, [which] has Kang in it,” Mayo wrote on X. “Majors was definitely who would’ve voiced the character.”
“I remember seeing John Wick 4 in March 2023 with a top exec at Marvel at the Americana movie theater in Glendale the weekend the news broke about Majors legal trouble, discussing how Kang was def the gameplan and the studio was afraid,” he continued. “He is straight up lying. Also, and this should be obvious, Kang has massive connections to the #FantasticFour.”
Mayo concluded: “It actually makes far more sense both logically and emotionally for KANG to come back to kidnap Franklin Richards (his ancestor) than it does Doom. He was absolutely the endgame.”
But have audiences actually seen the end of Kang in the live-action MCU?
Months after being written out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Majors has hinted that he might not be finished with Kang the Conqueror after all. Speaking with The Sun U.S. in September 2025, the Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star carefully sidestepped a direct answer when asked about stepping back into the role, but his response was just enough to spark fan speculation.
“I cannot say anything about that,” Majors said when pressed on the subject. “Well, it’s a Multiverse, so there’s always that. Always a lot of opportunity for that.”
That short tease was all it took for fans to start wondering if a new timeline, Variant, or alternate-reality version of Kang could still appear somewhere down the line. After all, the Multiverse is one of Marvel’s most flexible storytelling tools, and as Majors hinted, that kind of open-ended framework leaves a lot of room for unexpected returns.
The actor added that he was “very glad” to know some fans still want him back, acknowledging the continued interest in his version of the time-traveling villain.
Majors first brought Kang to life in Loki before taking center stage as the primary antagonist in Quantumania, acting opposite Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michelle Pfeiffer. His performance was set to launch the next era of Marvel’s big-screen villains before off-screen controversies reshaped the studio’s long-term plans.
Still, Majors hasn’t hidden his affection for the role–or for the team behind it. Back in April 2025, he was asked whether he’d ever consider working with Marvel again, and his answer was immediate.
“Yeah, of course I say yes. Disney, Marvel Studios, I love them. Tom Hiddleston, loved working with that guy. Loved working with Paul Rudd. Loved working with Gugu Mbatha-Raw,” Majors said, reflecting fondly on his time filming with some of Marvel’s most recognizable stars.
It’s unclear whether Marvel Studios would consider revisiting Kang’s storyline after shifting its focus to Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four. But with the Multiverse as a narrative wildcard–and Majors clearly open to the idea–fans might not want to rule out the possibility just yet.
Among the actors fans have speculated about, Colman Domingo emerged as a favorite to potentially step into the role. The Rustin (2023) star has been linked to Marvel for some time and addressed the rumors directly.
“You know, listen. My team has had conversations with Marvel about some aspect of the MCU for years. Do I know this to be true or not? I actually don’t know,” Domingo said previously. “I feel like my team doesn’t bring me something unless it’s real. So I don’t know. I could be in conversation, but I’m not sure. I would welcome a conversation around it.”
Later, Domingo gave a more definitive update, revealing that meetings with Marvel had indeed taken place. “I have had a meeting with Marvel, yes. But it wasn’t specifically about anything. They literally sat down and said, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. What do you got for me?’ So we’re having engagement, of course,” the actor explained.
He added, “Who would not want to be a part of the MCU? I just wouldn’t want it to be right. And something that is created for me, and something where I feel like I can give something of myself to. So we’ll find out what that is. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m patient.”
Domingo already has a Marvel connection—he voices Norman Osborn in the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which debuted in January 2025.
With Kang’s future uncertain and Doctor Doom stepping into the spotlight, Marvel’s Multiverse Saga appears to be heading in a radically new direction.
How do you feel about the fallout from the Kang the Conqueror situation? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!