![Jonathan Majors, in sunglasses and a grey suit, looks back over his shoulder at media cameras while getting into a car outside of Manhattan Criminal court after his pre-trial hearing on August 03, 2023 in New York City.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o8ShDfIAr16XGgbdyshl0JLCngU=/397x361:3550x2010/1200x800/filters:focal(1553x434:2225x1106)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72203042/1589848446.6.jpg)
Actor Jonathan Majors, known for his roles in Creed III, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, was arrested in March on charges of domestic violence and subsequently removed from several projects. The actor was found guilty on Dec. 18 on charges of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment. The actor will be sentenced in February.
Shortly after the verdict was announced, the Marvel Studios dropped Majors from subsequent projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A source close to the studio confirmed to Polygon that there are no plans to work with the actor in the future.
Majors was arrested on charges of strangulation, assault, and harassment on March 26. Shortly after Majors’ arrest, his lawyer released a statement claiming that the actor was innocent and that Majors was actually the “victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”
Majors’ publicist (who is also the husband of his attorney) released text messages from the alleged victim in hopes that they would clear up Majors’ involvement. That defense seemed to backfire; the texts, some said, read like they were written by a victim of abuse.
After these details came to light, several productions and agencies dropped Majors. Majors’ publicists, Lede Company and Management 360, reportedly parted ways with the actor, though the talent agency WME still represents him at the time of publication. Majors has also stepped down from the board of the Gotham Film and Media Institute and the Sidney Poitier Initiative. And he has been dropped from a number of advertising campaigns, as well as the upcoming movie The Man in My Basement. An untitled Otis Redding biopic that Majors was reportedly considering has also parted ways with the actor.
According to a report from Variety, “multiple alleged abuse victims of Majors have come forward following his March arrest and are cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office” in its case against Majors. Among these alleged victims is someone who apparently worked on Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which Majors portrayed Kang, the movie’s principal villain.
Since then, Majors has faced further accusations, most notably in a Rolling Stone story that alleged “extreme abuse” based on dozens of interviews with sources who wished to remain anonymous. Some of these allegations stretched back to Majors’ time as a student at Yale.
While Marvel remained in business with Majors through December and the release of Loki season 2, the studio severed ties with the actor only hours after the verdict was issued. The actor is deeply connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s current slate of films. He appeared in the first season of Loki as an adversary named He Who Remains, then played Kang the Conqueror, an alternate-universe version of the same character, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That movie’s post-credits scenes set up Kang as a Thanos-sized threat, revealing thousands of time-traveling Kangs and Kang variants. Kang is an integral villain to the MCU’s current story arc, designed to culminate with 2026’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, where Majors’ villain will likely help reset the MCU for a brighter future. Ingrained in the franchise, Marvel would face a significant challenge if it needs to recast Kang or revise those plans.
Polygon will continue to update this story as it develops.
Update (Dec. 18, 4:00 p.m.): This story has been updated to reflect Majors’ guilty verdict and pending sentence.
Update (Dec. 18, 5:00 p.m.): This story has been updated with the news that Marvel has cut ties with Majors after the verdict.
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