Jonathan Majors was found guilty during his assault trial back in December after he was arrested over a conflict with his ex Grace Jabbari, and he was sentenced to a year of domestic violence counseling. In the months before and after this decision was made, he was not seen on screen and he was dropped from multiple projects. Now, he's landed his first role following the verdict as he's set to star in the revenger thriller Merciless from Martin Villeneuve.
The actor will lead the film, and he'll be working with Denis Villeneuve's younger brother Martin, who directed Mars et Avril, Deadline reported.
The project is about a CIA interrogator who is out to defeat a force that overtook the woman he loves. Villeneuve provided an explanation about what this film will be about, saying:
’Merciless’ intertwines themes of possession, revenge, and personal justice within a haunting narrative. It explores the psychological descent of ‘John’, played by Majors, and the supernatural forces challenging his sanity.
Work on the film will begin in the late fall, and they'll shoot it in Saskatchewan.
Christopher Tuffin, who was integral in the success of Sound of Freedom, has developed the film and will produce it. The article noted that this project should be "demonstrative" of his new global media venture which, in his words "refuses to let the court of public opinion and selective prosecution undermine great art and artists."
As stated earlier, this movie will mark Majors’ first role since he was charged and arrested in March 2023 for “several counts of assault in the third degree, three counts of attempted assault in the third degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, and one count harassment in the second degree,” Variety reported.
Before all of this happened, Majors’ star was on the rise, big time. In the same year all this happened, the actor released three projects – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania, Creed III and Loki Season 2. His film Magazine Dreams also premiered at Sundance, but has not been released. Since then, he hasn’t worked on anything, and – with the exception of Merciless – doesn't have any upcoming projects, per IMDb.
While Majors’ legal issues played out, he was dropped from multiple ad campaigns and Marvel let him go shortly after the verdict was released. Another film of his, Magazine Dreams, was also taken off Searchlight’s release calendar. His career trajectory changed dramatically, and it will likely impact his work forever.
It’s unclear when Merciless will come out. However, with it beginning production in the late fall, it’s possible that it could end up on the 2025 movie schedule. As we learn more about this film as well as Jonathan Majors’ ongoing legal issues, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
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