Marvel Studios is parting ways with Jonathan Majors after the actor was convicted Monday of assaulting and harassing his former girlfriend, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Majors had been set to anchor the next phase of the lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise as the supervillain Kang the Conquerer. He has played the character in two Marvel projects, and he was slated to appear in 2026’s “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.”
It was not immediately clear who would be tapped to portray the chief antagonist of the next wave of interconnected Marvel movies, known as “Phase Six.”
Majors was widely seen as one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood before his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari accused him of assault, an allegation he has denied.
He broke into the mainstream with a supporting role in the acclaimed 2019 indie drama “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” distributed by A24. He then nabbed an Emmy nomination for his leading role on the HBO series “Lovecraft Country.”
He earned Oscar buzz earlier this year after the Sundance Film Festival debut of the bodybuilding drama “Magazine Dreams.” Disney’s Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights but then quietly pulled the movie from the fall release calendar.
Majors also co-starred in two of the year’s biggest blockbusters: “Creed III” and Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The two movies grossed more than $150 million apiece at the North American box office, raising the actor’s profile.
The nine-person jury in Manhattan found Majors, 34, guilty Monday of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation.
He was acquitted of aggravated harassment and a different assault charge. The judge set sentencing for Feb. 6. He faces up to a year behind bars for the assault conviction.
In a statement, Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry said in part: “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,” she added.
“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,” Chaudhry went on to say.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
