Emmy-nominated actor Jonathan Majors has been dropped by Marvel Studios after being convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. A jury in New York found that Majors, 34, attacked and harassed Jabbari during an argument in March. Marvel announced that the studio would no longer work with the actor and could face up to a year in prison when sentenced in February.
Majors played villain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel films and was set to perform again as the character in the follow-up film, Avengers: Secret Wars. It is unclear whether Marvel Studios plans to replace him with another actor or write his character out of the films. Marvel has already hired the creator of Loki to re-work a draft of the film, which had been expected to be called The Kang Dynasty. The new working title for the movie is Avengers 5.
Magazine Dreams, an upcoming film starring Majors that was touted as a possible Oscar contender, had its release postponed as well following his arrest. The US Army also dropped the Creed III star from a major advertising campaign once the news broke.
Jabbari's lawyer, Brittany Henderson, said her client had shown "irrefutable strength and poise while being forced to relive, both in court and very publicly, the abuse she was subjected to." Majors' lawyer shared that he continues to believe in his innocence and looks forward to fully clearing his name.
Sentencing will be on 6 February, and the judge also issued a new protection order, requiring him to have no contact with Jabbari.
