A source has claimed that Marvel studios ‘changed all of its plans’ to make Jonathan Majors the centre of its cinematic universe.
The actor first appeared in the season one finale of Loki and was set up to be the MCU’s big bad as it heads towards Phase 6.
However, the 33-year-old was later arrested and charged with assault, leaving his fate in the franchise unclear.
Majors had starred as He Who Remains in the Disney+ series, alongside Tom Hiddleston, with the character later revealing himself to be the villainous Kang the Conqueror.
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While fans had suspected he was the MCU’s next supervillain, they were immediately captivated by his incredible nonchalant monologue during Loki’s season one finale.
With expectations at an all-time high, many had also been looking forward to Major’s appearance in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and learning more about his character’s many variants across the multiverse.
Marvel has put the time traveller at the centre of its next Avengers film, The Kang Dynasty.
However, this hadn’t always been the case according to one insider.
During her research for the upcoming book MCU: The Regin of Marvel Studios, author Joanna Robinson claimed that the studio altered its plans after seeing Major’s performance.
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She told The Ringer's The Big Picture podcast: "I was told by someone who works for Marvel, it was not the plan to make Kang the center of everything until they saw the dailies from Quantumania and after his performance in Loki, which was so strong they were like, 'This is it. This is our way forward. We’ve lost our varsity hero team, but let’s set up around this guy Kang and this performer that so many people are reacting to’.”
According to Robinson, Marvel was aware it had a ‘huge problem’ after losing so many beloved cast members after Endgame and saw Majors as a solution.
She continued: “…what’s unprecedented in this for Marvel is, I would argue they have never hung so much of a franchise on one actor, as they tried to hang it on Jonathan Majors after his Loki performance and his Ant-Man: Quantumania performance....And that has put them in the bind."
After the actor’s arrest though, his future in the MCU is looking unclear as Marvel considers how to move forward.
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"We do not know what they are going to do. I’ve heard conflicting stories about they are going to replace him, they’re not even considering replacing him etc etc. But it’s just one more thing," revealed Robinson.
Given that the Vanity Fair journalist has done several exclusives about the franchise, it’s likely that Marvel and the House of Mouse will remain silent on the matter until a decision is reached.
Majors has denied all charges against him as the investigation continues.
UNILAD has reached out to Marvel for comment.
Topics: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney, Disney Plus, Celebrity, Film and TV, Jonathan Majors