How will Jonathan Majors’ assault conviction affect the future of Marvel?

Up-and-coming actor Jonathan Majors, known for his recent portrayal of Kang the Conqueror in Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Loki,” has been dropped by Marvel following his assault conviction.

According to The Associated Press, both Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropped Majors on Monday hours after he was found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend. Majors, 34, was convicted of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation stemming from a March altercation with 30-year-old Grace Jabbari. He was acquitted of two other charges.

“His lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement that he ‘still has faith in the process and looks forward to fully clearing his name,’” The Associated Press reported.

Before the trial, Majors was slated to appear in several upcoming Marvel blockbusters, whose futures are now unclear. He also starred in “Magazine Dreams,” a film that garnered rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in January but was pulled from Searchlight Pictures’ release schedule before his trial commenced.

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Who is Jonathan Majors?

Majors is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, per The Associated Press. His acting credits include “Creed III” and “Lovecraft Country,” and his recent blockbuster roles landed him on several lists of rising actors.

Majors was arrested in New York City on March 25 for allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, per NBC. Jabbari was taken to a hospital and treated for minor head and neck injuries after Majors called 911 to report her being unconscious.

Majors denied all allegations of assault and filed a police report accusing Jabbari of instigating the incident. Jabbari was arrested on Oct. 25, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced the next day that they would not be prosecuting the case, per NBC.

Majors faced immediate backlash and was dropped by his publicist and management firm, per CNN. He is still signed with talent agency WME.

Majors’ trial began on Nov. 29, and on Dec. 18, a jury found him guilty of assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, per NBC. Shortly after the verdict was announced, Majors was dropped by Marvel and Disney, according to multiple news outlets.

What is Marvel going to do about Kang?

Even prior to Monday’s verdict, CNN reported Majors’ Hollywood career was “in jeopardy” due to the allegations against him. Now that he has been convicted and faces potential jail time, it appears unlikely that his acting career will recover.

This poses an issue for Marvel Studios, which had set Majors up as the face of its next phase of storytelling. Majors’ character, Kang the Conqueror, has already appeared as the primary antagonist in “Loki” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and was slated to appear in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” in 2026 and “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027.

Marvel has previously recast several roles, including “Ant-Man” character Cassie Lang and “Iron Man” character James “Rhodey” Rhodes. In 2020, the unexpected passing of “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman led the studio to reframe its plans for the future of the series and had Boseman’s character die instead of recasting him.

The studio has not yet announced whether it plans to recast Kang or scrap his appearances altogether.