Actor Jonathan Majors is back in the news with his body-building drama “Magazine Dreams” heading to theaters this week and is doing a slew of press interviews. All in the wake of newly discovered audio (via Rolling Stone) of the actor admitting to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors is now telling USA Today that he’d be open to returning to the Kang role and the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe if the studio will have him back.
“Yeah, of course, I say yes. Disney, Marvel Studios, I love them,” Majors said in an interview with USA Today to promote his new movie “Magazine Dreams” when asked if he would be open to coming back to the MCU as Kang.
“Tom Hiddleston loved working with that guy. Loved working with Paul Rudd. Loved working with Gugu Mbatha-Raw. I love the industry so much, and now I’m in the place where I can feel the love from them and actually express my love for them.”
Majors played variants of Kang in two seasons of “Loki” and made the jump to the main bad guy in “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.” However, after his firing from Marvel, the Kang character was removed as a threat by the end of “Loki” season two, and “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” was retooled into “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Will we ever see Kang again?
Perhaps, but given the PR nightmare connected to bringing back Majors to the fold after his guilty verdict and this new admission of guilt on audio tape, I don’t think either Marvel or Disney are excited by the prospect. Also, with The Multiverse Saga expected to conclude with “Avengers: Secret Wars,” they’d likely have to adjust any future incarnations of Kang and his threat toward the heroes to make him compelling while fitting into the current narrative as “The Mutant Saga” is gearing up next.
Meanwhile, despite the pivot to Robert Downey Jr.‘s Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday” there had been a call from fans online for the studio to consider a recasting of the Kang role down the road. Some names that had been making the rounds in online fan circles were Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo (who has stated he’s not interested in replacing actors but still open to joining the MCU) and Oscar-winner Denzel Washington (before he was linked to “Black Panther 3“). However, rising talent like Damson Idris (“F1,” “Snowfall”) has been a plausible fan-casting name thrown around for both a new Kang and a potential Multiverse version of T’Challa.
It is worth noting many fans have been more upset with Marvel’s refusal to recast Black Panther after the death of Chadwick Boseman, as the choice to erase a popular black male superhero has been often questioned by those wanting to see T’Challa return. Although, using a bit of empathy it is understandable that director Ryan Coogler and the cast would be against replacing the late actor or, at least, weren’t looking to rush that process for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (aside from the reveal of T’Challa’s secret son in a post-credit scene as that certainly leaves a door open for a new actor).
Earlier in the week, Majors’ “Creed III” co-star and director Michael B. Jordan, who is also part of the MCU playing “Black Panther” villain Killmonger twice now, said he’d be open to the idea of bringing Majors back to reprise his troubled ex-con character for “Creed IV“ (Jordan is attached to return as the lead and direct the Amazon MGM Studios sequel).
