Jonathan Majors is speaking out after Robert Downey Jr. was cast to play Marvel villain Doctor Doom as a replacement for Major’s Kang the Conqueror.
Majors shared that he was “heartbroken” by the casting decision on Tuesday shortly after Downey revealed that he will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con on July 27. Majors was set to play Kang in the 2026 film “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” but Marvel decided to shelve the project and rename it “Avengers: Doomsday” when Majors was convicted of assault last year, per People.
“Yeah, heartbroken,” Majors told TMZ when asked how he felt about losing the Avengers villain role to Downey. “Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang.”
Majors went on to say that he would like the Kang role back one day, adding, “If that’s what the fans want, if that’s what Marvel wants, let’s roll.”
Majors first appeared as Kang the Conqueror in the Disney+ series “Loki” and 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The actor’s career was heavily impacted after he was found guilty of assaulting former girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Majors was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling in April 2023.
In June, he booked his first movie role since the conviction. The “Creed III” actor will star in the upcoming thriller “Merciless,” according to Variety. Martin Villeneuve, who will direct the film, confirmed Majors’ casting, the publication reported. In “Merciless,” a CIA investigator is called to action after the woman he is in love with is overcome by an evil influence.
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Producer Christopher Tuffin defended Majors’ casting in a statement, saying that he “refuses to let the court of public opinion and selective prosecution undermine great art and artists.”
Tuffin shared that he learned about “the dangers of letting politics undermine due process and deprive artists of their careers” in graduate school.
“I consider it an honor and a privilege to be working with such a great talent now that this matter has been adjudicated,” Tuffin said about Majors.
