Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Is No More — What's Going on in Marvel?

Summary:

• The MCU ’s next planned Avengers movie, the Kang Dynasty, is in trouble following the star actor’s legal troubles.
• Reports suggest that Marvel is eyeing a complete cancellation of the film and the main antagonist change.
• Fans are largely rooting for a recast, especially since the MCU’s lore allows for different variants’ co-existence.

Marvel HQ has definitely not been the happiest place on the planet in recent months. The studio is dealing with one crisis after the other, and blows are coming at it from all directions: the underwhelming performances on big screens, the admitted failure on small screens, and to top it all off, the legal troubles of the MCU’s next big star.

Reports suggest that Marvel bosses are desperate at this point and are even ready to cancel the next Avengers movie, The Kang Dynasty, entirely. What’s up with that?

What’s Up with Jonathan Majors and the Kangs?

The MCU’s most essential task after Avengers: Endgame was finding another Big Bad as compelling and scary as Thanos without being repetitive or bizarre. Marvel found the solution in Kang — or, rather, The Kangs. The new danger threatening the Multiverse, Kang was supposed to carry the entirety of the MCU’s next Phase.

The Kangs have already been introduced into the cinematic universe, portrayed by actor Jonathan Majors. Several movies and TV shows have been setting up the big face-off in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Majors has already established his presence on big and small screens alike. But now, there is a huge problem.

Jonathan Majors is now heading for trial on domestic violence charges, and things are not looking promising for the actor. Stuck in legal troubles, Majors suddenly turned from Marvel’s next big star into its worst headache as his reputation is no more. The actor is now toxic and controversial, and the studio can’t work with him.

Now, there are seemingly only two paths the studio could take amid their star actor’s lawsuit. Either recasting the character and finding a different actor for the gig (which definitely seems like an easier route) or scrapping the movie altogether and hurrying up to pen an entirely new storyline with a new villain (which would be devastating).

What Is Marvel’s Plan for The Kang Dynasty?

Surprisingly, the studio hasn’t issued any official statements yet. However, it’s known that Marvel is in a state of chaos and frustration as the execs are trying to figure out a new strategy. Reports suggest that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty might be scrapped altogether as it’s eyed as the most viable option by the Marvel bosses.

“Marvel is truly f*cked with the whole Kang angle, and they haven’t had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the strikes]. But I don’t see a path to how they move forward with him,” Marvel’s top branch source told Variety.

Another confirmation came from Joanna Robinson, the author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. The writer shared what she learned from her Marvel source, too.

“I was asking about the screenwriter Jeff Loveness, who <...> was supposed to write Kang Dynasty. I had it confirmed to me he’s no longer working for Marvel. I asked the person why; they said he was all wrapped up in this Kang storyline, and they are likely going to be moving away from that,” Robinson told the House of R podcast.

Rumor has it that Marvel is eyeing Dr. Doom as the new Phase’s main antagonist instead. It seems like everything is pointing at The Kang Dynasty’s cancellation, right? Well, not exactly. There’s also evidence that the movie is still in the works.

Just two days ago, Kevin Wright, the producer of Loki, happened to come around to Phase Zero and, while speaking to the host, confirmed that his colleague Michael Waldron is still working on both upcoming Avengers movies. This suggests that while the debates at Marvel HQ keep going, The Kang Dynasty has not been canceled yet.

What Do Fans Think About The Kang Dynasty’s Fate?

The vast majority of Marvel fans suggest the big bosses simply recast Kang and be done with it. It’s not like the MCU hasn’t done it before, and no one would really object considering the lawsuit and the accusations. However, others claim that even with the recast, there’s still a lot of work to do until Kang is worth his on-screen while.

“I highly doubt they'll cancel it, but they really need to fix Kang's character because, besides the Jonathan Majors drama, Kang has been extremely underwhelming as a villain. Built up as this grand universe-destroying powerhouse only to be defeated by ants, like, seriously? I wanna see him portrayed as a genuine threat at least once before [The] Kang Dynasty,” Reddit user zoecornelia pointed out.

Others suggested the MCU should buy itself some time and wait for the trial to play out before making any moves. If the actor is cleared, the movie could even proceed as planned, and if he’s found guilty — you guessed it, fans still want a recast instead of a full-blown cancelation. There’s no way around it, no matter how you look at it.

Surely, recasting seems like the optimal choice that would save much time and money for Marvel as the studio has already spent a fortune setting up the Kangs. And the notion about the villain himself is worth exploring after his underwhelming appearance in Quantumania… At this point, the whole ordeal is just too confusing.

But we’ll have to wait and see what the final solution is.

Sources: Variety, House of R via Spotify