- Jonathan Majors, the Kang of MCU was arrested in March 2023.
- However, Kang wasn't the only reason why Marvel renamed The Kang Dynasty; Marvel was thinking about renaming the movie even before the Majors verdict.
- Marvel has now renamed Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers 5.
2023 has been a rather shaky year for Marvel Studios after the leading man of the Multiverse Saga, Jonathan Majors, fell into serious legal troubles and was fired by Marvel Studios. Back in March 2023, Jonathan Majors was arrested under the charges of domestic assault on Grace Jabbari, his girlfriend at that time. This news took the superhero community by storm and was a serious disappointment for the fans of Jonathan. In February 2024, it was confirmed that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is being renamed to Avengers 5. But what led to Marvel taking this bold step? Marvel was thinking about renaming the movie even before Majors’ trial.
Jonathan Majors’ Arrest and Trial
As soon as Jonathan Majors was arrested under these charges, the prospects of Kang reappearing in future Marvel movies became uncertain. According to a report published by Variety, after Majors was arrested, all the leading members of Marvel, including Kevin Feige, had a meeting in Palm Springs in September 2023, to discuss the future of Marvel movies and shows considering the underwhelming performance of their projects. There, the topic of replacing Kang the Conquerer with Doctor Doom was discussed but back then, it was not confirmed if they would make it happen or not.
Now, after his trial, a verdict was issued by the Manhattan Criminal Court pronouncing Jonathan Majors guilty. As soon as the verdict was passed, Marvel was exceptionally swift to cut all ties with Majors, firing him from the studio and removing him completely from all upcoming Marvel projects. All the upcoming projects underwent a rewriting of scripts to remove the character altogether.
Disappointing Run of Quantamania
Marvel Studios was already planning to diminish the presence of Kang in their projects after Avengers: The Kang Dynasty considering Majors’ arrest and the underperformance of Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania with a total collection of just $476 million at the Box Office. As per a report, the movie needed at least $700 million to breakeven after the marketing spending, which did not happen.
However, according to a recent report by The Hollywood Reporter after the charges on Jonathan Majors, followed by his guilty verdict and then being fired by Marvel, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is now being renamed to just Avengers 5 removing the character of Kang from the entirety of Marvel Cinematic Universe. There will be no recastings done for the character and Kang will be replaced by a different villain. As of now, there are no confirmations from Marvel Studios on who it will be. However, we have an idea of possible villains who could replace Kang.
Even though 2023 was a fall down the cliff for Marvel Studios and fans, 2024 and beyond seems to be where Marvel is going to make a “superhero landing” with their upcoming super-hyped projects like Deadpool and Wolverine, Daredevil Born Again, Fantastic Four starring Pedro Pascal, Blade, and a lot more. So, folks, as dedicated fans of cinema and superheroes, let’s wait for Marvel to get back on its feet in the coming years and till then, I’ll be right here bringing you every update I get my hands on. Till then stay tuned!
