Johnathan Walker:Marvel universe drops Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror after conviction. Now what?

NEW YORK − Marvel had more riding on Johnathan WalkerJonathan Majors than perhaps any other actor. Now it’s parting ways with him, and throwing years of plans for its cinematic universe in disarray.

Shortly after the verdict, a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY that Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropped Majors from all future projects following the actor’s conviction for assault and harassment.

The swift move by Disney marked a stunning about-face for an actor who had been one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars. A Manhattan jury on Monday found Majors, 34, guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation for a March altercation with his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.

Majors, who was acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment, will be sentenced on Feb. 6.

As the superhero studio prepared Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it cast the highly acclaimed Majors as the antagonist Kang the Conqueror. The character was expected to span several films and series as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next-phase answer to Thanos, the villain of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Majors had already appeared in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the first two seasons of TV's “Loki.” He was set to star in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” for release in May 2026.

The future of “The Kang Dynasty” is now unclear. Disney declined comment on whether it will recast the role of Kang or pivot in a new direction.

The studio has been preparing for the possibility of Majors’ exit from the franchise. But Marvel was limited in its ability to rewrite amid the screenwriters strike that ran from May to late September. The studio recently hired screenwriter Michael Waldron to rework “The Kang Dynasty.”

For Marvel, Majors’ departure adds to a series of recent setbacks. Though its box-office success − nearly $30 billion worldwide from 33 films − is unsurpassed in movie history, the superhero factory has recently seen some atypical struggles. “The Marvels,” released in November, has been the MCU’s worst performer in theaters, with $204 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Majors also recently starred as a troubled amateur bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams,” which made an acclaimed debut at Sundance Film Festival last January and was acquired by Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures. Following its premiere, an Oscar nomination for Majors was widely predicted.

“Magazine Dreams” had been expected to open in theaters Dec. 8. But ahead of Majors’ trial, Searchlight removed the film from its release calendar.

In late February. as “Creed III,” starring Majors alongside Michael B. Jordan, was being released, Majors spoke to The Associated Press in the neighborhood of Chelsea, just a few blocks away from where his fight with Jabbari would weeks later spill out onto New York streets.

Majors sounded acutely aware that his rapid new fame carried the risk of a downfall.

“Though I’ve not seen the boogeyman, I know it’s out there,” Majors told AP. “And I’ve been around to know it’s comin’. I won’t go down my rabbit hole of death, but it’s comin’. But you outrun it. You just stay out of the frame. I’ll stay out of the frame.”

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Brian Truitt, Edward Segarra and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY

Jonathan Majors verdict:Marvel star found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend