Jonathan Majors, who plays the supervillain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment on Monday for attacking his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari in a car in Manhattan. The 34-year-old actor was one of Hollywood's fastest-rising stars before misdemeanor domestic-violence charges halted his rise, and now, Marvel Studios is officially parting ways with him, a spokeswoman for the company said. The news comes shortly after a six-person jury in Manhattan announced the verdict.
Majors was not found guilty of two other charges in the case —aggravated harassment in the second degree, and intentional assault in the third degree. But jurors found him guilty on the two other charges after more than five hours of deliberation. His sentencing is scheduled for February 6, 2024, and the actor could face just under a year in jail for these charges.
Majors was previously expected to reprise Kang the Conqueror in the upcoming fifth Avengers film (originally titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) as well as its 2027 sequel, Avengers: Secrets Wars, but at this point, it's unclear if Majors' role, as well as his subsequent various from across the Marvel multiverse, will be recast, or if Marvel Studios will pivot away from the villain entirely. According to previous reports, Marvel Studios is looking to pivot away from the villain, and towards another antagonist such as Doctor Doom, in the wake of his arrest.
Marvel Studios spokeswoman Angela Shaw said that the company will now move forward with the film without Mr. Majors. The studio confirmed on Monday that it's still moving forward with the fifth Avengers film in some capacity, with screenwriter Michael Waldron in charge of the latest iteration of the script.
Majors appeared in the MCU twice this year, as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and as He Who Remains and Victor Timely in Loki Season 2, both of which were filmed prior to this arrest.
Jonathan Majors' legal team released the following statement:
It is clear that the jury did not believe Grace Jabbari's story of what happened in the SUV because they found that Mr. Majors did not intentionally cause any injuries to her. We are grateful for that. We are disappointed, however, that despite not believing Ms. Jabbari, the jury nevertheless found that Mr. Majors was somehow reckless while she was attacking him. Mr. Majors is grateful to God, his family, his friends, and his fans for their love and support during these harrowing eight months. Mr. Majors still has faith in the process and looks forward to fully clearing his name.
It was confirmed that the March 25th altercation between Majors and Jabbari lead to her hospitalization, with an NYPD spokesperson stating that she "sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition." The state of New York brought the charges concerning this states, and according to reports from April, other alleged abuse victims of the actor's came forward to cooperate with Manhattan district attorney's office. During the trial's opening statements, Manhattan ADA Michael Perez argued that Majors displayed a "cruel and manipulative pattern of abuse" in his relationship with Jabbari, who met him on the set of Quantumania.
During the trial, Jabbari testified for multiple days, and various pieces of evidence were presented as background information, including photos of Jabbari's injuries, screenshots of texts, body-camera footage from officers, and a September 2022 recording she had made during an argument with Majors. The actor pled not guilty on all charges.
Majors reportedly parted ways with PR film Lede Company and his management Entertainment 360, with the latter citing "issues of the actor's personal behavior." The actor was also dropped from ad campaigns involving the United States Army and MLB's Texas Rangers, as well as two upcoming movies: a currently-untitled Otis Redding biopic and The Man in My Basement.
