The Marvel Cinematic Universe got quite a shock earlier today when the studio dropped Jonathan Majors, which will have massive ramifications for the whole multiverse. In the wake of the recent guilty verdict, Marvel Studios is reportedly renaming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, presumably in a bid to distance the franchise from the actor.
Majors, the actor behind Kang the Conqueror, was found guilty on charges of assault and harassment by a jury following a two-week trial. In response, Marvel Studios officially released the troubled actor from the role of Kang in the MCU. According to new information from The Hollywood Reporter, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty also lost its title as a result of Majors’ departure.
Marvel is reportedly referring to the upcoming movie internally as “Avengers 5” for the time being. The script for the movie is still currently being written and no director has been attached to the movie. Marvel may decide on a title after the script is completed – which, we’re sure, is going through heavy changes. Lucky that it wasn’t finished yet!
The news corroborates previous reports that Marvel has been looking to drop the Kang storyline from the MCU. There have been rumors that the studio may be looking to pivot to a narrative featuring Doctor Doom, the archnemesis of the Fantastic Four.
However, there is also the possibility that Kang the Conqueror will be recast with another actor. Marvel has previously recast the roles of James Rhodes aka War Machine and Bruce Banner’s Incredible Hulk. It will even be easier to explain with the current Multiverse Saga given that variants of a character may be different in other universes.
It will be up to Loki creator Michael Waldron to write the new script for Avengers 5. Waldron will reportedly be assisted by current Loki writer Eric Martin, who also helped rewrite the script for Loki Season 1. The duo is also onboard to pen the script for the follow-up film Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers 5 still does not have a director after Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton left the project. Cretton is stepping aside to focus on other MCU projects such as the Shang-Chi sequel.
At this point, it is almost impossible to tell what direction Marvel is heading with the Multiverse Saga. If we look at the comic books, the Secret Wars involved the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men going up against Kang, Doctor Doom, Ultron, and Enchantress. Galactus and Magneto were also involved in Secret Wars.
It could be possible that Marvel is heading in this direction given that we already have the superhero teams, including the X-Men, who are reportedly debuting in Deadpool 3. Interestingly, the second version of Enchantress started as the Loki variant known as Sylvie. Sophia Di Martino’s character in the Disney+ series could very well become a central player in the Multiverse Saga.
As for Deadpool, he may have a bigger impact on the Multiverse Saga after the real-world events involving Jonathan Majors. It could be possible that Deadpool 3 may look to introduce the next big bad villain in the MCU as the upcoming movie is the only film scheduled for 2024.
