Jonathan Majors as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania. Credit & Copyright: MARVEL. before his brightest new star Jonathan Majors was arrested in Manhattan on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment. The once unassailable franchise has endured a series of critical and commercial quasi-flops. The recent film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania was hit rock bottom: reviewers hated it, and its box office gross of $474 million fell short.
«A Marvel movie» has become more generally pejorative: a shorthand for a film in which computer-generated effects are more important than storyline and witty dialogue is more important than a good script. When people say "Marvel movie" nowadays, they invariably mean a movie that lacks a soul.
But those challenges pale in comparison to the one Marvel and its boss, Kevin Feige, faced before the Majors court appearance on May 8th. allegations of domestic violence. Marvel has made a big bet on Major, a charismatic actor who was expected to support the next «phase» of the MCU with a recurring role as the mega-villain Kang.
Kang is the spiritual successor to Thanos Josh Brolin, the sensitive walking boulder that Captain America and Iron Man encountered in the later Avengers sequels. However, Majors' character, first introduced in Disney + The Loki series is more than a villain. It was supposed to be the link between the disparate Marvel films in cinema and streaming.
He's already rounded out his Loki appearance with a twist in recent Ant-Man (the Majors more than held their own against established stars like Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer). And he should have been on the entire upcoming Marvel roster. He was featured as an antagonist in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, scheduled for release in 2025, and Avengers: Secret Wars, due out 12 months later. Majors has already filmed his scenes for the second season of Loki, which is expected on Disney + this year. If the Majors become persona non grata in Hollywood, then the all-powerful MCU will have a void at its core in the form of Kang. >
Perhaps that's why Marvel has taken a «wait and see» approach. Majors has pleaded not guilty through his lawyers, saying he can prove he did nothing wrong.
“Jonathan Majors is innocent and has not offended anyone. We have provided the District Attorney with irrefutable evidence that the allegations are false. We are confident that he will be fully acquitted,” his lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement.
Marvel is an exception biding its time. The Majors have been dropped from several other projects, including an adaptation of Walter Mosley's The Man in My Basement, though he remains tied to Spike Lee's stunt double and 48 Hours in Vegas, in which he is to play the eccentric basketball star. , Dennis Rodman.
The Majors also parted ways with their influential publicists, Lede Company and Management 360. His agency WME is expected to convene a special meeting of its «client advisory committee» to discuss the future of the Majors (WME has previously dropped Brett Ratner, Bryan Singer and Armie Hammer). Meanwhile, the US Army has postponed a recruiting campaign involving the majors. And fashion brand Valentino «by mutual agreement» will not participate in the Met Ball this year. Jordan in Creed III Posted by Eli Ade
Why does Marvel get stuck when everyone else is running? The simple answer is that he went all in at the Majors as the face of the MCU. With the departure of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, the series lacks charisma. It has a lot of muscle (Chris Hemsworth's Thor) while actors like Rudd keep a high level of wit. But with the departure of Downey Jr., he lacked that magnetic center around which everything else could revolve. Majors was supposed to be that new guiding light.
«He's the most dangerous villain we've ever had,» Feige said of Major in February. “Even without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. It worked from the very beginning.”
But now it doesn't work. Of course, Marvel has overcome controversy before. He stuck with Black Panther star Letitia Wright amid claims that she shared anti-vaccination views on social media (Wright said she turned down the affair). And, of course, another great villain, Thanos actor Josh Brolin, was arrested in 2004 for domestic violence in the home he shared with his then-wife Diane Lane. There is a certain logic to Marvel's warnings about the Majors situation.
Another factor is that Marvel is not a separate entity. It's owned by Disney, a conglomerate that claims to be all about family values. It's not just Marvel that has to deal with problem stars: Warner Bros. moving forward with his film DCU Flash despite star Ezra Miller's multiple arrests for disorderly conduct and burglary. But, of course, Warner does not position itself as a fortress of health. Disney stands for something bigger than itself, or so it claims, and will be wary of getting into a conflict over Majors.
The only advantage of Marvel is that for all the charisma of Major, the actor is not indispensable. Kang is a multi-dimensional being who takes on different personalities in different universes. And so it wouldn't be hard to remake him.
That's what Warner did with Johnny Depp's villain Grindelwald, giving the role to Mads Mikkelsen for Fantastic Beasts: A Dumbledore Mystery. Marvel itself had no hesitation in recasting Don Cheadle as Tony Stark's best friend Rhodey in Iron Man after Terrence Howard demanded more money to return to the role.
It was 13 years ago when the MCU was in a very different place. But until the hearing on May 8, the question of whether he can beat everyone with a different Kang is still up in the air. As, however, and Major's career. What is certain is that with Marvel already in a period of uncertainty, the last thing it needs is a scandal around one of its stars. Overcoming this problem may prove to be a task beyond even her superpowers.
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