Marvel has announced that Jonathan Majors will no longer star in the MCU, hours after a New York jury found the actor guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment. Majors—who starred in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Kang the Conquerer, the MCU's newest main antagonist—faced four charges of assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment after he was arrested on March 25, 2023, when police found apparent injuries on his ex-partner Grace Jabbari, including a laceration behind her ear and a bruised and fractured finger. Majors was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in second degree. The judge also renewed Jabbari’s order of protection against Majors.
Majors called 911 last March when he said he found Jabbari, a British dancer and movement coach, unconscious in their apartment. Jabbari testified that the actor had caused the injuries during an alleged altercation in a private car several hours before, when she saw a text on Majors’ phone that read, "Oh how I wish to be kissing you." She said that she tried to snatch the phone from Majors, who then "pried her finger from the phone, grabbed her arm and right hand, twisted her forearm and struck her head to get the phone away from her," per The Hollywood Reporter. Jabbari later tried to exit the car, at which point Majors allegedly threw her back inside, an instance which was captured on surveillance video.
Per ABC News, the mixed verdict signals that the six-person jury believed the Marvel star recklessly assaulted his ex-girlfriend but did not intentionally do so. The charges for which he was found guilty carry a sentence of up to one year in prison. Sentencing is set for February 6.
While he did not testify, Majors appeared in court throughout the criminal domestic assault trial, during which he was accompanied by family members and his current girlfriend, actress Meagan Good.
During Jabbari's testimony, which took place for the first four days of the trial that started on December 5, Jabbari recalled meeting Majors on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in August 2021, and claimed their relationship included several alleged incidents of Majors growing angry with her and yelling at her, or withholding affection over incidents including spending time away from him and not answering her phone. On December 13, a September 2022 text conversation between the pair was made public by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, in which Majors appeared to dissuade Jabbari from going to the hospital after she suffered an injury to her head. An audio clip of an argument between the former couple was also released, during which Majors tells Jabbari that he is a "great man" and that the woman who "supports" him "needs to be a great woman and make sacrifices the way," evoking Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama as examples of supportive partners.
The domestic assault case has already affected Majors' career. In the wake of his arrest, both his publicity firm, the Lede Company, and his management firm, Management 360, dropped him, while the US Army announced that an ad campaign starring the actor would be pulled. His film Magazine Dreams, which premiered at Sundance last January, was also quietly dropped from Searchlight Features' release calendar last October.
Marvel's announcement on Monday also puts an end to months of fan speculation over whether Kang would continue on as the MCU's next Thanos, as several Multiverse variations of the character—all played by Majors—were set to appear in multiple MCU films in the lead up to 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Variety reported this month that Marvel leadership reportedly considered swapping Kang out for fan-favorite Marvel Comics’ villain Doctor Doom. An insider at talent agency WME, which represents Majors, also recently told CNN that their relationship could soon dissolve based on the trial verdict and Marvel's decision.
