Over the last few years, Jonathan Majors has become one of the hottest rising stars in Hollywood, with his recent performances in blockbusters such as Creed III and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania only elevating his status. However, things took a significant turn when Majors was charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment in NYC, leading to some professional setbacks. With his upcoming Marvel Movies and television series, such as Loki Season 2 (which we know things about) and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, fans are left wondering about the future of his tenure in the MCU. Majors’ status with franchise currently remains unchanged, but some fans have an intriguing theory about how he could be replaced in the villainous role. While the theory is certainly intriguing, it’s worth examining whether it holds any water.
The recasting hypothesis that has excited some fans involves Chukwudi Iwuji replacing Jonathan Majors in the role of Kang the Conqueror. It should be noted that Iwuji stars the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as The High Evolutionary, who has devious motivations of his own. Twitter user @hzjoe03 shared a great picture of Iwuji’s headshot next to the Marvel villain, and it honestly would be a pretty brilliant piece of casting. You can see the tweet for yourself below.
If they do recast Kang in the future, I have a suggestion… Chukwudi Iwuji 🙏 pic.twitter.com/hKLOe0fS5qMay 5, 2023
@TheDiscFather shared a tweet with a similar idea, which gained over 11k views and hundreds of likes, seemingly indicating that many users share this notion. The comments on the post also show significant support for the recasting concept, which you can review yourself.
Its safe to say we all want Chukwudi Iwuji as Kang right ? pic.twitter.com/PK5ijhL79MMay 6, 2023
A comic book fan, @Bart2389, proposed a possible solution to the dilemma. The idea is to rewrite the High Evolutionary character to be a Kang variant and have the Peacemaker actor take over for Jonathan Majors in future MCU appearances. Although Majors has played all variations of the character so far, those assorted Loki variants proved that counterparts can look quite different. And in the case of the God of Mischief, one can even be an alligator. The fan’s explanation can be found below:
I saw some people saying that they want Chukwudi Iwuji to replace Jonathan Majors as the MCU’s Kang if he gets recasted considering how great he was in GOTG 3 so how would you feel about this? If this happened it could be explained that the High Evolutionary was a Kang variant pic.twitter.com/DG4u96Al5tMay 5, 2023
@PahwaNikita echoes this sentiment, arguing that Chukwudi Iwuji’s character in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the villain fans have longed for. The comment reveals a criticism amongst some fans that Kang lacks depth and complexity. The user provided a side-by-side look at the two characters so fans could judge the potential recast:
High Evolutionary was the villain Kang was supposed to be pic.twitter.com/PqhSlGf3miMay 5, 2023
Although I concur that the theater veteran has the potential to excel as Kang due to his exceptional acting abilities, tapping him for the role would diminish his portrayal of The High Evolutionary. Making an already compelling character a variant of Kang seems contrived and unconvincing, and it would not benefit either villain. @MilKPoP447 on Twitter identifies what I believe is the fundamental issue with Kang’s character in the MCU so far: the writing. The conqueror has not been as fleshed out by the writers who have handled him as James Gunn has done with his GotG Vol. 3 antagonist. Check out their somewhat more biting comment below:
I’d say Chukwudi Iwuji could’ve played Kang instead of Jonathan Majors (mainly due to the recent controversy), but that would’ve meant that he’d be stuck with way worse writing, so I think we’re good pic.twitter.com/OTHsnL9IXVMay 5, 2023
Jonathan Majors’ future with the MCU is currently unknown. While it was reported that the actor had lost his talent agency and publicist, Marvel Studios has not announced any plans to drop him from the franchise, as of right now. The company may wait to see how the situation plays out before deciding about the actor.
A recasting may not require shoehorning in a variant, which could weaken the original character’s characterization as well as The High Evolutionary's portrayal. Instead, a new actor could be found altogether. While Marvel Studios has generally avoided recasting significant characters, if you have watched the Marvel movies in order, you know there have been substantial changes throughout the franchise's lengthy run. Fans have accepted new actors in prominent roles before, such as Mark Ruffalo taking over for Edward Norton as the Hulk, Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine, and Kathryn Newton taking over for Emma Fuhrman as Cassie. Therefore, recasting the time-traveling warlord entirely could be the most suitable route if necessary, and we have five actors in mind for Kang.
Only time will tell whether Jonathan Majors will be replaced as Kang the Conqueror in the MCU. His recent arrest and subsequent issues may pose challenges, but Marvel Studios may also choose to support him. While fans wait for concrete details, they'll likely continue to throw out theories on the matter.
Meanwhile, you can check out Chukwudi Iwuji in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is now playing in theaters. Also, please take a look at our schedule of 2023 new movie releases to plan your next cinema visit.
