Anthony Mackie Is The First Marvel Actor To Break Silence About Jonathan Major’s Incident, And Here’s What He Has To Say
Making his debut in the Loki series and later in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earlier this year as the main villain, Kang the Conqueror has taken the entire Marvel fanbase by storm with his intimidating powers and overwhelming charisma. Portrayed by the talented Jonathan Majors, the infamous comic villain has caused a fair share of trouble for Scott Lang and his family. Kang is supposedly killed at the end of the movie, but millions of his other variants are revealed in the mid-credit scene, and fans are on their feet to see the epic battle between them and the Avengers ensue in the next big MCU crossover, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
However, Major’s future with the studio is under huge speculation, as the 33-year-old actor is arrested earlier this year on charges of attempted assault, strangulation, and harassment. His trial will commence this August, but in the meantime, fans are pressuring Marvel to replace the star. The studio itself hasn’t made any comment regarding the matter, until Anthony Mackie’s most recent interview, which sees the Falcon star expressing his thoughts about Major’s incident.
#1. What Mackie has to say about Jonathan Major’s charges?
Source: Getty Images
In a recent interview with Inverse, Anthony Mackie, who portrays the new Captain America, Sam Wilson in the MCU after taking the mantle from Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, finally gives us some thoughts when asked about his co-star’s accusation. Of course, Mackie refrains from making any bold statement, and instead avoids referring to Major’s name, claiming that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty”.
“We’re a country that was built on ‘everyone is innocent until proven guilty.' That’s one of the staples of this country. Nothing has been proven about this dude. Nothing. So everyone is innocent until proven guilty. That’s all I can say. It’s crazy where we are as a society. But as a country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty.” Said the actor.
Source: Marvel
From Mackie’s answer, we can see that the actor remains neutral when answering such a sensitive topic, implying we should wait and see how the August trial will turn out before making any further comments. However, some fans insist that the Falcon should have been more vocal about the situation, as attempted assault and harassment are very condemnable acts.
#2. About Jonathan Major’s charges and trial.
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The actor was arrested by the NYPD on March 25 earlier this year, as the police received a 911 call from a 30-year-old woman who claimed she was physically assaulted by Majors. The victim is reported to have minor injuries on her head and neck. While the actor’s lawyer has denied the accusation, the Californian’s arrest is still warranted, and a trial is set for August 3.
Following Majors’s arrest, multiple companies and organizations pulled out any advertisement involving the 33-year-old star, including his management and PR teams. He was also dropped from two upcoming movie projects.
#3. Majors’s adventure so far with Marvel Studios.
Source: Marvel
The actor made his MCU debut in the 6-episode TV series Loki in 2021, which also features Tom Hiddleston, Tara Strong, Sophia Di Martino, and Owen Wilson. Majors portrays He Who Remains, the TVA leader, who turns out to be one of many variants of Kang. He later stars a different version of the villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania named Kang the Conqueror.
Kang is seemingly killed at the end, only for Marvel to reveal more of his variants coming for the Avengers in the future, including iconic comic characters such as Immortus, Rama Tut, or Victor Timely. Majors is expected to reprise the role in the upcoming film Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026, until the recent charges, that is.
#4. Will Marvel replace Jonathan Majors?
Source: Marvel
While receiving pressure from fans pleading to replace the actor, Marvel themselves hasn’t made any official comment about the controversy, nor any talk about finding a replacement yet. According to Mackie’s statement, they will possibly wait until the trial takes place in August to commence before making any…major decision (no pun intended).
There are some rumors about how Marvel will reduce Major’s screen time in Loki season 2, but it’s unlikely since the filming was done before the charges dropped. The same cannot be said about Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, as the movie has been delayed to 2026, which gives the studio plenty of time to wait for the trial’s result, and to make the next big decision regarding the actor’s future in the MCU. For now, fans have been suggesting some possible candidates take the role, for example, John Boyega or Giancarlo Esposito.
What’s your opinion on Majors’s charge? Do you think he will reprise the role of Kang in future MCU movies? Share your thoughts in the comment.