At this point, it feels like Kang the Conqueror should be renamed Kang the Cursed. First, his big debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania went down as one of the biggest bombs in the MCU and then, in a truly troubling behind-the-scenes development, actor Jonathan Majors had his reputation take a major hit after an arrest over an alleged assault charge. While this situation is still playing out, there remains the very real chance that Marvel will be forced to recast the Multiverse Saga’s big bad.
The studio is no stranger to replacing major characters, of course — in fact, it’s already done so successfully with both Mark Ruffalo as Hulk and Don Cheadle as Rhodey, with the new actors being so good that audiences didn’t care about the lack of explanation for the change. Marvel could always take that track again with Kang, as there are numerous talented stars who would certainly do a terrific job of making the villain their own. However, if Marvel really wanted to embrace the creative opportunity to take Kang in a whole new direction, there’s a much more ambitious route the studio could embark upon.
To do our best impression of the Watcher for a second, what if… Marvel didn’t recast Kang with a new actor, but an old one? Maybe even the most iconic MCU star of them all. Hear us out: what if… Robert Downey Jr. became our new Kang?
Hilariously, one viral tweet in the wake of the Majors scandal already pitched Downey as a new Kang by throwing shade on the actor’s controversial turn as Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder. Of course, Marvel would not — and should not — recast an established Black character with a white actor. That’s not what we’re suggesting here in the slightest. Rather, Kang could deliberately take on the form of the greatest Avenger in a truly twisted attempt to get under the skin of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Exactly how this could be achieved would be up to Marvel’s screenwriters to devise. The CW’s The Flash, whose best plotline saw Reverse-Flash take on the face of Barry Allen’s mentor Harrison Wells, could potentially be a big influence. However, it’s also just possible that Quantumania provided the perfect explanation for this twist. Among the Council of Kangs in the threequel’s post-credits scene, we’re pretty sure there was a Skrull Kang variant.
It’s not hard to imagine Skrull Kang landing a much bigger role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, in which he takes on the form of Tony Stark to taunt the good guys. Downey has been open about how Iron Man is in his rearview mirror, but maybe the chance to get to play the villain for once could be what tempts him to return to the franchise, especially as the studio may be in need of a huge morale boost if Majors does need to be replaced.
Just picture the scene. The assembled Avengers are stunned when faced with the miraculously resurrected Stark. “Tony?” says, let’s go with, Bruce. “Tony, how are you back?” Then Downey turns around with an evil grin on his face and proclaims: “The truth is… I am Kang.” The roar from the crowd in theaters would be at Spider-Man: No Way Home levels.
Majors is all set to appear, this time as Victor Timely, in Loki season two, but the long-term status of his career as Kang hangs in the balance. All we’re saying is, if Downey did return as a shapeshifting Kang variant in Avengers 5, it could help lift the villain’s curse and allow him to conquer Thanos as the MCU’s most game-changing villain.