One simply cannot question the love Marvel fans have for Robert Downey Jr. but despite this, his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been met with polarizing opinions. It was recently announced that the actor would be playing the much-anticipated Doctor Doom in the superhero universe and while some fans are on cloud nine, others believe this was a step in the wrong direction.
Robert Downey Jr.’s return also marks the official end of Jonathan Majors’ Kang, a hyped-up supervillain whose story came to an abrupt end due to real-life setbacks. Doctor Doom has replaced Kang as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga but fans have a question – why couldn’t Marvel Studios just recast the character? They sure have done it before.
Fans Wonder Why Marvel Didn’t Recast Kang
After Jonathan Majors was found guilty by the court, he was fired by Marvel Studios, leaving the future of Kang in a haze. The most straightforward solution to the conundrum was recasting the character and bringing another actor with enough gravitas and charm to make fans forget all about Majors’ loss.
This would have allowed the MCU to keep doing what it was doing and finish what it had initially started with the Multiverse Saga. Since the first season of Loki, Marvel had been building up the Multiverse storylines which were eventually proven to be the work of Kang. And now, the superhero universe has moved ahead with the Multiverse leaving Kang behind. This does not sit right with fans.
Die-hard fans had given a lot of their time and attention to Kang’s storyline and to see it be so abruptly uprooted has them disappointed with the studio, despite it bringing back Robert Downey Jr., our favorite actor.
The one question fans seem to repeatedly be asking is why couldn’t Marvel Studios just recast Kang. After all, they have done it before with Bruce Banner, aka Hulk (Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton), and James Rhodes, aka War Machine (Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard).
Take a look at what some fans have to say about it all:
They had no problem recasting Rhodey and Banner but somehow struggled to recast Kang when that’s literally the EASIEST fuckin recast https://t.co/IES6ZBkDcl
— Parker 🕸🕷 (@mcuspider616) July 28, 2024
Kang deserved a proper sendoff. The council of Kangs is just open ended and there was so much potential with where things would go. Marvel’s throwing the Russo Bros & RDJ at us to disguise the fact that they have no idea what’s going on
— 🪐OP🪐 (@GodzillaVKongF1) July 28, 2024
And it's not like they haven't just recasted before
— OneMadNugget | Video Editor (@OneMadNugget) July 28, 2024
They should have recast Jonathan Majors with someone else. There are plenty of good actors out there who have the gravitas to pull off the Kang effect. I don't get some of these studios at all
— N. K. Aning (@nana_aning1) July 28, 2024
A real missed opportunity. If they aren’t using Jonathan Majors then recast. Given we have seen multiple Kangs already it wouldn’t be an issue.
— Warren Tarling (@wozzajt) July 28, 2024
A similar issue took place a few years back after the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman. Fans did not appreciate the studio killing of T’Challa instead of simply recasting him. It looks like history is repeating itself all over again.
Could Kang Still Be a Villain Despite Robert Downey Jr.’s Casting?
The movie once known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has officially been renamed as Avengers: Doomsday, making sure fans know that Doctor Doom is the man to look out for and not Kang.
However, there are some speculations and theories amongst fans that while Kang is no longer the big bad of the MCU, the character could return with a different face as a secondary villain.
When Screen Rant presented this possibility to Kevin Feige, he simply refused to answer the question.
In a recent interview, the publication asked if Kang would still be a villain in the upcoming Avengers and Feige replied,
I’ve done a number of interviews in the last couple of days, and you’re the first person to [ask this], I give you credit for just outright asking the question and I’ll give myself credit for trying to invade it and avoid it entirely.
Well, at least they tried. Feige refusing to answer the question could also mean that he was simply trying to get the fans’ focus away from the idea in order to surprise them in the end. There’s no harm in a little bit of clowning, right?
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on May 01, 2026.
