Kang the Conqueror was set to be the big bad of the current era of the MCU. That all changed when former Kang actor, Jonathan Majors, was embroiled in legal trouble stemming from a domestic dispute. Now, Marvel and Disney have dropped the actor from the role, and the rumor mill is swirling about his replacement in the role. At first, people were speculating that Marvel could possibly sidestep the character and go with someone else to be the big bad in the upcoming Avengers 5.
Names like Dr. Doom, Loki, and Mojo were floated by fans in theories, but it looks like Marvel is sticking with Kang and recasting the role. One such name comes from DanielRPK’s Patreon, and that’s Colman Domingo. You might know him from The Walking Dead, Euphoria, or as the voice of Unicron in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. He’s a fantastic actor and is reportedly being seriously considered to take over the role.
Majors played the character in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He was set to be a gigantic part in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. He was convicted of assault and harassment last month in a court in New York. Majors has yet to be sentenced, but he could face jail time stemming from a fight with his then-girlfriend in 2023.
Is There Precedent For Marvel Recasting?
Marvel is no stranger to recasting roles; they famously switched from Terrance Howard to Don Cheadle for War Machine, and also switched out Edward Norton for Mark Ruffalo for The Incredible Hulk. This, however, is the first time they’ve had to recast because of legal issues. Those previous examples were due to creative differences or money disputes.
It seems like recasting the role of Kang might be the easiest choice. If they went with a different villain, it would require changing years of planning and movies; whereas they have a fairly easy explanation for why Kang will look different, the multiverse. There have been other variants of characters in the MCU already with multiple versions of characters already appearing in What If…? and movies like The Marvels and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
We’ll have to see if this rumor does in fact break out whenever we get official word from Marvel. For now, treat it as a bit of rumor watch.
Avengers 5 is set for release on May 1st, 2026.
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Source: DanielRPK
