Marvel Studios has a major problem on their hands—a Jonathan Majors problem, if you will. Majors, who recently played Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, was arrested a month ago due to a domestic dispute. On top of playing a major villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he also appeared in Creed III and was slated to star in a number of films this year.
In the aftermath of his arrest, Jonathan Majors has been dropped from many projects. Even his management and public relations firm cut ties with the actor. It was proving to be a breakout year for Majors, who was starring in two blockbuster movies at the same time, but the incident might have just ended his career.
Here’s a timeline of Jonathan Majors’ career, from his sudden rise to his just-as-sudden fall.
How the Indie Actor Became Marvel’s Newest Villain
Jonathan Majors was on his way to becoming the next big name in Hollywood after starring in several blockbusters, and in movie franchises, too. Though it seemed he appeared out of thin air, Majors has been in theater since high school. In fact, he considered it his safe space amidst a troubled childhood. “The one thing that was consistent from the age of 14 to that time was that I was in the theater,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
He pursued his love of acting at the University of North Carolina and, eventually, Yale School of Drama where he graduated with an M.F.A. in 2016. A year later, he nabbed his first onscreen role in the mid-budget film Hostiles. That same year, he played a younger version of the LGBTQ+ activist Ken Jones in the docuseries When We Rise. His portrayal didn’t go unnoticed and W Magazine called him the show’s ‘the one to watch’.
And true enough, Jonathan Majors emerged from playing side characters to co-starring alongside Jimmie Fails in the 2019 drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco. The film, which was produced by A24, was a Sundance hit and earned the 33-year-old several nominations for his supporting role and breakout performance.
From then on, Jonathan Majors continued to build a successful career as a serious actor in a mix of independent films and blockbusters. He starred in critically acclaimed projects, including Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods (2020), The Bullits’ The Harder They Fall (2021)—an ironic title given his current situation—and, HBO’s Lovecraft Country (2020).
Regardless of his massive frame, there’s a sensitivity that Jonathan Majors masterfully portrayed in his films. But he’s also not afraid to dig deep and deliver a spine-chilling performance as a villain. We first saw this in Season 1 of Loki which introduced Kang the Conqueror as an MCU villain that can surpass the wrath of Thanos. He reprised the role in Ant-Man and the Wasp, which also served as the setup of Phase 5. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed earlier this year that they had big plans for Jonathan Majors’ character. “Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect,” Feige said to Entertainment Weekly. “Hey, we’re going to make multiple movies around this character, and we’re going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.”
The same week I watched Ant-Man, I watched Creed III and I thought, “Man, Jonathan Majors is everywhere.” Many things were praiseworthy in the sports drama—including Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut—but Majors delivered a knockout performance as dame, the intimidating challenger of Adonis Creed (Jordan).
2023 Arrest and Allegations of Abuse Against Majors
With his recent spate of appearances in major films and an entire phase of the MCU being planned around him, it seemed like Jonathan Majors wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. However, all that came to a head on March 25 when news of his arrest broke out.
Following a 911 call from an apartment in New York, police took Jonathan Majors into custody for alleged assault on a 30-year-old woman who is suspected to be the actor’s girlfriend. She had ‘minor injuries to her head and neck’, according to the authorities, after she claimed to have been struck and strangled by the actor. His charges include assault, strangulation, and harassment.
Majors’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry later released a statement that said, “Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.” Atty. Chaudhry also said they are gathering video footage and other evidence that will prove Majors’ innocence while adding that the woman was having an ‘emotional crisis’.
She also publicized alleged text messages from the unnamed victim to Jonathan Majors, which said, “They assured me that you won’t be charged. They said they had to arrest you as protocol when they saw the injuries on me and they knew we had a fight.” It also said, “I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone.” However, all it did is stoke the fire of suspicion against Majors. One Twitter user said, “All the messages show is someone who is behaving like most abuse victims do, apologizing. How did she get the injuries she sustained? A verbal argument doesn’t result in physical injuries.”
Furthermore, more people reportedly came out with allegations of abuse against Jonathan Majors, who is set to appear in court on May 8. Variety reported that these alleged victims are “cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office”, which could prove detrimental to the actor’s case.
Aftermath of Arrest: Jonathan Majors Dropped From Big Projects
It’s 2023 and it’s refreshing to see that, even if it is for the sake of appearances, movie producers and brands aren’t taking domestic violence and abuse lightly. Unfortunately for Jonathan Majors, who we can only say is innocent until proven guilty by his pending trial, that means his career has come to a grinding halt. Several of his partnerships and projects have cut ties with the actor.
Aside from his management and PR team, Protagonist Pictures dropped Majors from the planned film adaptation of The Man in My Basement, and is no longer being considered to play Otis Redding in an upcoming biopic about the music legend. The US Army also pulled the Be All You Can Be ad campaign starring Majors, as well as the MLB team Texas Rangers who picked the former Dallas resident as their newest endorser. It’s also been reported that he will no longer be attending this year’s Met Gala after parting ways with fashion label Valentino.
The biggest question in everyone’s mind is not whether or not Jonathan Majors is innocent—even the text messages that his lawyer released made it seem that a domestic altercation happened.
Rather, what people want to know is this: Will Marvel drop Jonathan Majors too and recast Kang? Marvel Studios is known to be tight-lipped about a lot of things and they’ve maintained their silence on the issue up to now. No representative has made any statements on Majors’ status on their payroll but, if they want to avoid bad marketing, they will most likely recast the role. They have done it with a few characters in the past, so it’s not too out of left field as an idea.
The good news is that Jonathan Majors has only appeared in two titles, Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp, so it’s not too late to introduce a new face to the menacing villain. The bad news, at least for Jonathan Majors, is his career will have to be on hold until he clears his name.
