Disney Removes ‘Magazine Dreams,’ Starring Jonathan Majors, Off Release Calendar Altogether

Brian Welk
·2 min read
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Walt Disney and Searchlight Pictures has finally taken “Magazine Dreams,” the indie movie starring Jonathan Majors, off its theatrical release calendar for the year.

The movie was meant to open on December 8 following Searchlight acquiring it in a competitive situation out of Sundance, just days after the actor is set to return to court on November 29, but the movie has finally been pulled. No new release date has been set as of this writing.

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Searchlight’s “Poor Things” with Emma Stone is also set for release on Dec. 8.

Disney also delayed by a year the releases of its “Snow White” live action remake and the animated “Elio,” both most likely because of strike-related production delays. “Snow White” was set for March 22, 2024 and moves to March 21, 2025. “Elio” was set for March 1, 2024 and moves to June 13, 2025.

“Magazine Dreams” is directed by Elijah Bynum and stars Majors as a socially awkward and reclusive amateur bodybuilder with dreams of stardom in professional weight lifting competitions. The film drew comparisons to “Taxi Driver” for its sobering character study and violent turns. Coming out of the festival in January, Majors’ performance was even pegged as a potential Oscars contender. Searchlight had dated the film for a prime awards season release in December, shortly before assault accusations against the actor surfaced in March.

Rolling Stone also reported on Majors’ alleged behavior on the set of “Magazine Dreams,” in which he was accused of acting violently toward co-stars. His lawyers defended their client’s actions as a form of Method Acting and denied any accusations of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse toward cast or crew.

Majors was arrested and released on March 25 this year for the alleged assault against his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, who says Majors assaulted her while riding in a taxi back to his Manhattan apartment. Police responded to a 911 call and noted minor injuries to Jabbari’s head and neck. Majors, who was charged with misdemeanor harassment and assault, denies the allegations.

Majors also appears in the second season of “Loki” and starred as the villain Kang in this year’s Marvel movie “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” A true rising star, he was expected to be the next face of the “Avengers” franchise, appearing as the villain in both “The Kang Dynasty” and “Secret Wars.” Those movies have yet to be moved or shuffled from the release, and he has yet to be re-cast or removed from the role. The actor though has reportedly been dropped by several representatives and other projects, and the U.S. Army pulled ads that featured him earlier this year.

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