Previous Marvel star Jonathan Majors finally spoke out about Robert Downey Jr. replacing him as the new Avengers villain. Majors was set to reprise his role as Kang the Conqueror in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which Disney has now scrapped and replaced with Avengers: Doomsday.
The news of Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom made some serious waves across the fandom. However, for previous Marvel star Jonathan Majors, it brought some devastating news. In an interview with TMZ, Jonathan Majors spoke about how the decision to replace him made him feel. “Yeah, heartbroken. Of course,” he exclaims, “I love Kang. Doctor Doom is wicked, though.”
Jonathan Majors Is No Longer With Disney
While the news might have taken Jonathan Majors by surprise, many fans aren’t shocked by Disney’s decision to axe him. In December of last year, he was arrested and convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. On April 8, 2024, he was finally found guilty and sentenced to a year-long domestic violence program, with failure to complete it resulting in jail time.
Immediately following the verdict, Marvel dropped Majors from all future productions. Nearly all of Jonathan Majors’ talent management team followed Disney’s directive as well.
The End For Kang
With the dropping of Jonathan Majors and the return of Robert Downey Jr., Marvel fans do wonder what will happen with the Kang the Conqueror storyline, which had been building since Endgame. So far, it appears that Disney is okay with just leaving the character behind and making a hard pivot to Doctor Doom.
Kang wasn’t doing much for audiences anyway; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which he was the star villain, is the worst-reviewed MCU movie to date. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a critics score and audience score of 46 percent and 82 percent, respectively.
The Return Of Robert Downey Jr.
In an interview with ABC News, Jonathan Majors spoke about the industry’s reaction to his sentencing, “It’s like you work so hard for things. And then, you know, it’s done.” Some fans have pointed out that the PR choice to replace him with Robert Downey Jr. may seem a little hypocritical.
Downey himself has had a fair share of legal troubles in his past, but it should be noted that being found guilty of drug possession and being found guilty of assault and harassment are two very different legal ballparks. It’s been suspected that Disney saw it that way as well.
Avengers: Doomsday Is Entering Production
For the Marvel fans who were really itching to see Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, hopefully, the news of Robert Downey Jr.’s return eased the blow. Currently, Avengers: Doomsday is projected to have its theatrical release sometime in May 2026. Filming is expected to start in London early next year, officially marking the end of Jonathan Majors’ journey as Kang.
Marvel Needs Doom
For now, we must wait and see if Robert Downey Jr. can successfully pivot from hero to supervillain. Since Thanos, the MCU hasn’t had an all-encompassing villain for the heroes to rally together and fight. Fans hope that Doctor Doom will deliver as a villain and that the decision to replace Jonathan Majors with Robert Downey Jr. was a smart one.
