Why Did Marvel Fire Jonathan Majors?

Jonathan Majors‘ assault trial did not end in his favor, both on the personal and career fronts. A jury found him guilty of the harassment and assault of ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari following his March 2023 arrest on domestic violence charges. With an hour after the verdict broke, Disney announced that Majors was being relieved of his mega-villain role as Kang. Reported word has also already surfaced that the Kang Dynasty movie would be retooled as Avengers 5 as Marvel attempts to, amid various reasons, regain box-office clout.

No one can argue that the timing of Majors’ firing was a mere coincidence, and Disney was obviously awaiting word of how the jury viewed the totality of the evidence against the Lovecraft Country star. The news also followed devastating text messages (via TMZ) that were admitted into evidence and showed Majors attempting to convince Jabbari to not be treated for her injuries that presumably occurred during an altercation. He also apparently threatened to commit suicide during that text chain, which pointed towards a pattern of manipulation in the eyes of the prosecution.

Also not working in Majors’ favor: the tactics of his attorney (Priya Chaudhry), who ran afoul of the judge on more than one occasion. Those included previously released text messages that actually didn’t paint her client in a positive light and photos showing Jabbari going to a club after early 2023 incident, which the victim insisted only reflected her seeking solace from friends. Chaudhry has suggested that Majors will attempt to appeal the verdict, although it’s not clear what grounds he could claim with the facts of the case being, well, what they are.

Majors has lost multiple gigs since his legal saga began, and Disney also decided to shelve Magazine Dreams, in which Majors portrays a troubled body builder. His manager also cut ties with the Creed III actor, although his agency, WME, continues to represent him at this time.