Jonathan Majors allegations and timeline of Marvel actor’s arrest, explained

Actor Jonathan Majors, known for his roles in Creed III, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, is being removed from projects after his arrest in March on assault charges. Majors is set to appear in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan on May 8.

Majors was arrested on charges of strangulation, assault, and harassment on March 26. Shortly after Majors’ arrest, his lawyer released a statement claiming that the actor was innocent and that Majors was actually the “victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”

Majors’ crisis publicist (who is also the husband of his attorney) released text messages from the alleged victim in hopes that they would clear up Majors’ involvement. That defense seemed to backfire; the texts, some said, read like they were written by a victim of abuse.

After these details came to light, several productions and agencies dropped Majors. Majors’ publicists, Lede Company and Management 360, reportedly parted ways with the actor, though the talent agency WME still represents him at the time of publication. Majors has also stepped down from the board of the Gotham Film and Media Institute and the Sidney Poitier Initiative. And he has been dropped from a number of advertising campaigns, as well as the upcoming movie The Man in My Basement. An untitled Otis Redding biopic that Majors was reportedly considering has also parted ways with the actor.

According to a report from Variety, “multiple alleged abuse victims of Majors have come forward following his March arrest and are cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office” in its case against Majors. Among these alleged victims is someone who apparently worked on Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in which Majors portrayed Kang, the movie’s principal villain.

Marvel remains in business with Majors, as of publication time, with production for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty reportedly beginning next spring. The actor is deeply connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s current slate of films; he appeared in the first season of Loki as a character named He Who Remains, and was set up to be a Thanos-sized threat going forward.

At the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Majors was shown to play even more roles, with thousands of time-traveling Kangs and Kang variants appearing in post-credits scenes. Kang is an integral villain to the MCU’s current story arc, which culminates in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, where Majors’ villain will likely help reset the MCU for a brighter future.

The potential of recasting the role presents Marvel with a challenge: Loki season 2, expected to include Majors in a fairly prominent role, is already in the can. The news may even impact Disney’s VOD slate, as the company looks for the right time to release Quantumania on Disney Plus amid Majors’ legal troubles.

As Hollywood reacts to the news erupting around Majors, the actor’s representatives still attempt to counter it with new statements.

“Jonathan Majors is innocent and has not abused anyone,” his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, wrote in an email blast to press on April 19. “We have provided irrefutable evidence to the district attorney that the charges are false. We are confident that he will be fully exonerated.”