Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror (and variants) finally graced the big screen, which leaves the possibility of Iron Lad joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe a strong possibility. In Marvel Comics, Kang has a number of odd variants, including a teenager who comes to the past from the 31st century to prevent his future domination.
Kang was born Nathaniel Richards, a distant descendant of Reed Richards and Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four. After suffering from constant bullying at school, Nathaniel is visited by his future self who takes him on a journey throughout time, showing him how he will one day rule and conquer everything. Appalled by his future actions, Nathaniel uses the time travel suit Kang gave him to arrive at the present day in hopes of getting help from the Avengers and preventing his future incarnation from causing chaos throughout the timestream.
The teenage genius uses Tony Stark’s ideas to make himself a suit, calling himself Iron Lad. Since the Avengers have disbanded, Nathaniel recruits several young heroes – such as Cassie Lang, Kate Bishop, Billy and Tommy – who call themselves the Young Avengers. During his time in the present, young Nathaniel and Cassie Lang develop feelings for one another. Nathaniel eventually realizes he needs to go back to his own timeline, but not before killing one of the many Kang variants and vowing to be a better person.
With the introduction of so many young heroes and Kang finally blasting his way into the MCU, now is the prime opportunity to introduce his younger self and form the Young Avengers. Based on Johnathan Majors take Kang, here are 10 actors who could believably step into what has to be among the most coveted roles in Hollywood right now. Since Cassie is currently around 18 years old and Kate Bishop is 22, Nathaniel could be cast as a college-aged young man and not necessarily a teenager. For that reason, we’re including actors from teens to 30.
Trey Sartorius
The MCU has already cast Trey Sartorius as “Nate” Richards in the upcoming Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Sartorius is a 19-year-old actor and social media personality who is known for his roles in Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger and The Thundermans. His YouTube channel, where he creates short videos, has amassed 1.03 million subscribers.
Just because he’s been cast in the Disney Plus series does not mean he will also be portraying him in the movies. As we know, Kang has many variants and, at the moment, we don’t even know if this is the Nathaniel Richards or a past relative. Although he doesn’t really look like Jonathan Majors, he has a great personality in his YouTube videos, which could definitely make him a good choice to play teenage Kang.
Dallas Dupree Young
Dallas Dupree Young is possibly the youngest actor on this list at 16. He is best known for Cobra Kai and Ready Player One. His role on Cobra Kai showcased his acting abilities, with his character being set up as a bullied teenager only to turn into one of the villains of the series. He has the ability to be likeable and scary within seconds.
Caleb McLaughlin
One of the stars of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, Caleb McLaughlin really had the opportunity to showcase his acting talents during the show’s fourth season. The role set him up to be one of the most sought-after young actors in Hollywood. He doesn’t resemble Jonathan Majors, a little makeup could go a long way in achieving the right look.
Tyler James Williams
Tyler James Williams is best known for portraying a young Chris Rock in Everybody Hates Chris and Gregory in Abbott Elementary. Although the actor is 30-years-old, he still looks in his early 20s, and young actors regularly play teenagers in television and movies. He has great facial expressions that could make him believably become Kang in the future.
Shameik Moore
If his name sounds familiar to you, it’s because Shameik Moore currently stars as the webslinger Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Just because he currently portrays one superhero doesn’t mean he can’t be another, especially since his roles as Miles Morales is a voice acting role. Moore also stars as Sha and Raekwon in the highly acclaimed biographical drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Tyrel Jackson Williams
Twenty-five-year-old Tyrel Jackson Williams is the Kids Choice Awards nominated star of the Disney XD series, Lab Rats. He also starred as Charles alongside Hank Azaria in Brockmire, where he was really able to showcase his acting talent. Williams has a likeability on the screen that draws people in, similar to Majors’ Kang.
Keith Powers
The talented Keith Powers has appeared in a variety of film and television genres — action, romance, and comedy. He played Tyree in Straight Outta Compton, Theo in Faking It, Jordan in Famous in Love, and Major Greenwood in The Tomorrow War. Not only is he a rising star, but he’s very charismatic on and off the screen.
Keiynan Lonsdale
Keiynan Lonsdale is no stranger to being a superhero like Iron Lad. He stars as Wally West in both The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, where he has grown quite the fanbase. He also starred as Bram in Love, Simon and Love, Victor. Although he is 32 years old, he still looks like a 20-something. He can do both comedy and drama extremely well, making him well-suited for a role such as Nathaniel Richards.
Khylin Rhambo
Khylin Rhambo made a name for himself as Mason Hewitt in Teen Wolf. He reprised his role for the recently released Teen Wolf: The Movie as the now Deputy Mason Hewitt. Besides his acting talent showcased in Teen Wolf, Ender’s Game, and The First Family, Rhambo also looks like he could be a young Kang the Conqueror.
Jonathan Daviss
Jonathan Daviss is one of the main stars of Outer Banks and looks remarkably like Majors, down to the fact that both actors have one eye that is slightly more squinted than the other. He is also a very talented young actor who regularly steals every scene he in which he appears in Outer Banks. While his character, Pope Heyward, is the brains of the main protagonists, he has also had the opportunity to showcase his acting range. Davis also appeared in the 2022 Netflix film, Do Revenge.
