Maybe the Kang dynasty isn’t quite as over as it seems. Days after Marvel confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. was portraying Dr. Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, the rebooted form of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the movie’s original title star and arch-villain Jonathan Majors has broken his silence on officially getting replaced in his all-important MCU role.
While Downey’s Doom isn’t expected to be directly connected to Kang the Conqueror, the multiversal maniac was all set to be the big bad of the franchise’s Multiverse Saga himself. Until, that is, Majors was convicted on assault charges last December, with Marvel officially axing the actor the very same day. Suddenly, a multi-project, multi-media presence was cut short, reduced to just Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and two seasons of Loki.
Majors has now given his honest reaction to Downey taking over in his stead, however, and it seems he hasn’t yet given up hope of making an unexpected return to the MCU to finish Kang’s arc.
What has Jonathan Majors said about Kang’s doomsday and a potential MCU return?
“Yeah, heartbroken. Of course,” Majors admitted when asked by TMZ if he was upset over the Downey casting news. “I love Kang. Doctor Doom is wicked, though.”
Despite how much it might sting to have the Iron Man legend steal his thunder, Majors indicated that he would still be more than willing to suit up as Kang once more if Marvel came a-calling. “Hell yeah! Hell yeah! I love him. I love Kang,” the Creed III star said. “If that’s what the fans want, and that’s what Marvel wants then let’s roll. Hell yeah.”
At first glance, Marvel extending an invitation to Majors to reprise Kang may seem unlikely, given that his assault conviction has left the once extremely popular star on the rise without any major Hollywood projects in the works. That said, stranger comebacks have happened — Downey’s own included. RDJ was infamously arrested multiple times and even spent time in jail due to his substance abuse in the 1990s, but these days he’s a dual MCU icon.
In fact, Majors was directly asked about how his situation compares to Downey’s by TMZ. The actor seemed gracious over Downey getting the chance to make a comeback through his Marvel success, even if he did hint at an underlying resentment over how that contrasts with his own treatment by the studio.
“I think it’s fair that Mr. Downey is being and has been greeted with patience and curiosity and love … and [he’s] being allowed to work [his] art and be creative at that level,” Majors stated in response to the loaded question. “I didn’t really get that.”
Obviously, the big difference between Downey and Majors’ criminal histories is that the former’s were years into his past when Marvel took a chance on him in 2008, whereas the latter’s conviction was a matter of months ago. Nevertheless, Majors certainly seems committed to trying to get his career back on track, even if it’s safe to say that for the moment the day belongs to Doom, and not Kang.