After the report of Marvel Studios slowly scrapping every trace of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror from the MCU following his conviction for third-degree reckless assault and harassment, fans expressed dismay at the resolution.
Kang the Conqueror was labeled the new supervillain in the MCU after Thanos, and just when he’s about to take on the multiverse, the actor fell into a scandal that not only tarnished his reputation but his Marvel role as well.
Kang The Conqueror’s Arc Reportedly Being Wiped Out From Avengers 5
In an article from The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios is planning to rewrite Avengers: The Kang Dynasty “which will now either minimize the character or excise him entirely.” This means that Jonathan Majors’ part as Kang the Conqueror will be no more than a thing of the past now.
Apparently, Marvel has reportedly been looking to diminish the villain’s role prior to Majors’ conviction due to the box office failure of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film underperformed with only $476 million in total ticket sales against a whopping $275 million budget.
Still, many believed the film made a great introduction of Kang. According to Kevin Feige, he was supposed to be the next big thing in the MCU via Entertainment Weekly:
“For years, we’ve always had the inkling that Kang would be an amazing follow-up to Thanos. He’s got that equal stature in the comics, but he’s a completely different villain. Mainly, that’s because he’s multiple villains. He’s so unique from Thanos, which we really liked.”
Now that they are overhauling the entire Avengers 5, the studio is looking into several storylines that could replace the villain’s arc. One of the famous suggestions would be Mark Ruffalo’s World War Hulk plot, which could still get off the ground despite the actor revealing a solo Hulk movie would never happen.
Kang is also rumored to be replaced by a more terrifying villain, Doctor Doom. It has been reported that Marvel Studios is re-shifting their lenses to the famed Fantastic Four villain. The part is yet to cast its actor, but Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill has been a famous bet ever since.
Marvel Fans Are Not Thrilled With Kang’s Dismissal
The revamp of Avengers 5 has tremendously disappointed a lot of Marvel fans. Many believe Kang’s story is still worth telling, and the studio should not resort to completely obliterating the character from the MCU since it’s always possible to recast. One fan lamented:
“Quantumania didn’t fail because of Kang, it failed because it was a bad movie. Meanwhile Loki did an AMAZING job at setting him up. They could’ve recast w/ a variant that kills the others.”
Twitter users sympathized with the fan and claimed that it was such a “wasted potential.” Check out some of their reactions below:
Would break my ❤️ if they don’t continue with Kang’s story. So much wasted potential and tie with the Fantastic Four and Young Avengers that could have been great surprises for the non comic reading audience. Maybe the title change is for branding and Kang may have a minor role…
— alex. (@nightwingsson) February 21, 2024
I was really looking forward to it
— Chris The Mutant ❌ (@NotChrisG1) February 21, 2024
I was expecting Kang to be the next "big, bad" after Endgame and when he was officially announced to be, i got super excited and was super eager to see him being set up. Loki did a fantastic job and Quantumania, although terrible, gave us a taste at Kang's potential. If the MCU…
— Comics Run the World (@ComicsRTW) February 21, 2024
Actually a real shame.
Was an incredible character. Very well acted. And having all of those different versions of him allowed you to almost sympathize. Especially the Victor Timely variant shown in Loki season 2. Oh well. Things are a little rocky over at Marvel so best to…
— Komrade + Kommander (@KMNDR_) February 22, 2024
It’s just so heartbreaking 💔
— Broken Magic 🪄 (@1234djsethunder) February 22, 2024
Kang was the only interesting part of the last MCU productions. It's very disappointing if it doesn't continue.
— maxarus (@maxarus) February 22, 2024
Avengers 5 is scheduled for release on May 1, 2026, while the sequel, Secret Wars, is set to arrive a year later. Hopefully, this revision of the storyline won’t cause any delays. Plot and cast details are still kept under wraps so fans will have to stay tuned for more future updates.
