Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has reportedly avoided saying Jonathan Majors‘ name while discussing the actor’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following the Jonathan Majors MCU controversy. Majors was originally central to Marvel’s plans for the Multiverse Saga, portraying Kang the Conqueror as the primary villain across Phases 4 through 6. His appearances in multiple films and the Disney+ series made a significant impact within the franchise.
Back in July 2022, right after revealing the Multiverse Saga at San Diego Comic-Con, Feige praised Majors‘ presence, calling him the perfect choice to carry the franchise’s complex narrative forward. He highlighted how Majors
“took over the Hall H stage…in the three minutes he was up there,”
and described him as the ideal actor to anchor the Multiverse Saga.
“It comes down to the cast and with Jonathan Majors, who I think took over the Hall H stage, you know, in the three minutes he was up there. It’s amazing, and I said to him there’s nobody’s shoulders I’d rather be putting the Multiverse Saga on than his. It’s really impressive what Jonathan Majors is able to do and all the different incarnations, variants, if you will, of Kang that we will see him do. It’s really pretty cool.”
—Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President
Feige further elaborated on Majors’ effect on the franchise shortly before the release of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023. He revealed that test screenings showed Majors’ Kang as the most positively received villain Marvel had ever introduced, even before visual effects were added.
“And in the early days of ‘Quantumania’ [test audiences], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He’s the highest-testing villain we’ve ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That’s really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start. It’s always one of the fun rolls of the dice that we do at Marvel, which is to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to make multiple movies around this character, and we’re going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.’ We really go all in on these ideas and this casting. It was a big relief when the season ender of ‘Loki’ season 1 happened. People really seem to be on board for Kang. People are chanting, ‘Kang!’ when Jonathan goes on talk shows, and they haven’t even seen him in the movie yet!”
—Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President
Feige described Kang as a character with limitless potential, emphasizing the creative freedom Marvel had in exploring his various forms and storylines.
“The future is unwritten, and this character could go anywhere. It could clearly be anything, in any guise. Part of the fun when it comes to Jonathan and Kang is to expect the unexpected. All possibilities are on the table.”
—Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President
From Acclaim to Arrest: The Fall of Majors’ MCU Role
Approximately a month after the release of Ant-Man 3, Jonathan Majors was arrested on charges of assault and harassment. By December 2023, these charges led to his conviction, prompting Disney to terminate his contract and Marvel Studios to discontinue Kang’s storyline. This sudden pivot marked a major shift in the MCU‘s long-term plans, which had heavily involved Majors as a core villain.
In a July 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Feige addressed the transition away from Kang without mentioning Majors directly. He explained that Marvel’s team had already begun moving past Kang’s character
before what had happened to the actor,
believing the villain was not on the same scale as previous MCU antagonists like Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Instead, Marvel turned its attention toward Dr. Doom as a more fitting adversary to headline future phases.
“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. 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. 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.”
—Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President
The talks involving Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom began before Majors‘ role was officially recast. This revealed that Marvel intended to scale up its villains’ impact well before the controversies around Majors arose.
Eight months after Majors was fired, Marvel officially announced Downey’s return to the MCU as Dr. Doom, positioning him as the ultimate antagonist for the upcoming concluding chapters of the Multiverse Saga, including Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The Likelihood of Jonathan Majors Returning to Marvel
Since Majors’ legal issues and subsequent firing, the actor has received some industry support while attempting to revive his career, notably with his roles in films like Magazine Dreams and Merciless. However, Marvel appears committed to moving forward without him or Kang’s character. Instead, the franchise is investing heavily in Downey’s Dr. Doom to reinvigorate its villain narrative, especially after Ant-Man 3 struggled with critical reception.
When questioned about the possibility of returning to the MCU in April 2025, Majors expressed enthusiasm about working with stars like Paul Rudd and Tom Hiddleston, revealing no bitterness toward Disney and a hopeful outlook for reconciliation. Despite this, Feige’s avoidance of Majors’ name suggests that a comeback within the MCU is highly unlikely.
Marvel’s approach to reimagining its villain hierarchy points to a clear departure from the previous plan centered on Kang, reflecting the studio’s readiness to embrace new directions for the saga’s climax. Fans can expect Dr. Doom to play a pivotal role, heralding fresh conflicts and storytelling possibilities beyond what Kang’s character had offered.
