The days of Total Marvel Hegemony are long gone. While the MCU’s history in pop culture remains huge, Kevin Feige and co. appear to be at a crossroads regarding the future of their fledgling slide. A new feature reported by VarietyTatiana Siegel sheds light on the behind-the-scenes chaos at the studio until recently Teflon. According to Siegel, when Feige and Marvel loyalists gathered for a vacation in Palm Springs last September, the “most pressing issue” on the table was the issue of Jonathan Majors, who was cast to play the new villain at the center of the franchise. multiple films before being accused of domestic violence earlier this year.
But the idea that Marvel might be looking for a new actor to play Kang the Conqueror—or a recycled story that doesn’t involve him—isn’t the most eyebrow-raising nugget in Vaety’s piece. According to Siegel’s sources, “there have been discussions to bring back the original gang They don’t take revenge movie,” meaning that Iron Man (Downey, Jr.) and Black Widow (Johansson) could return to the fold despite their heroic deaths in 2019. The end of the game. Downey played things close to the vest when asked about the Marvel return, while Johnson told Gwyneth Paltrow, referring to the Black Widow character, “(That) chapter is over. I did everything I had to do.” (He will produce the project at Marvel, though details about it are slim.)
But what Marvel does with the Majors is very important, and clearly a cloud hangs over the studio. When Marvel chose Majors to join the universe in 2020, he was a young star on the rise who had just played well-received games. The Last Black Man in San Francisco again The world of Lovecraft. Majors started playing as Kang in the game Loki series, and played an actor in Ant and Wasp: Quantumania, but is clearly positioned as the new Thanos of 2026 Avengers: Age of Kang and 2027 Avengers: Secret Wars. Everything changed when he was arrested, in late March, on charges of assault and harassment, which he denied. On October 25, the judge rejected his request to have the case dismissed; the controversy led to Majors being demoted by his management and losing several lucrative production deals, as well as one starring movie role.
Back in April, Deadline reported that “there is no discussion in Marvel’s camp to take Majors out of the MCU,” and he appears as a variant of Kang, “Victor Timely,” in the second season Loki, its finale airs on November 9 and is reported to be live streaming Avengers: Age of Kang. An industry insider told us Variety, “Marvel is really confused by the whole Kang angle. And they haven’t had a chance to rewrite it until recently (due to the WGA strike). But I don’t see how they can move forward with him.” Of Variety Siegel wrote that Marvel considered moving from Kang to “another comic book enemy, like Dr. Doom.”
Despite the success of recent films like Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 again Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the MCU is no longer the critical and commercial juggernaut it was throughout the 2010s. Criticism of both the quality of the visual effects and the working conditions of their VFX artists led to public scrutiny. In September’s unanimous vote, Marvel’s results team will be meeting with IATSE, a move that could signal a paradigm shift in the industry.
Regardless of the actual quality, the deluge of Disney+ TV shows has led to a high level of viewer fatigue. Eight new Marvel shows launched between January 2021 and August 2022 as part of the MCU’s “Phase Four,” while recent shows like He’s the Hulk again Secret Invasion received more mixed reviews. A variety of things The story includes a quote from Bob Iger saying that the gold rush for the Marvel series has been “diluted by the focus and attention” from the universe. Marvel’s uncertainty also comes as rival DC is revamping its film and television lineup Guardians of the Galaxy mastermind James Gunn and Peter Safran.
The next Marvel project to hit theaters is Miracles, featuring a great director in Nia DaCosta and an alluring cast headed by Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, though Variety noted that the film received “moderate reviews” during public screenings in June.
