Jonathan Majors’ MCU Salary: The Kang Actor Was Reportedly Set to Earn More Money Than Thanos Actor Josh Brolin For Avengers 5
Jonathan Majors will no longer be playing supervillain Kang the Conqueror in the upcoming Marvel Avengers films. This comes following the actor’s recent verdict on the assault arrest and additional allegations, which have thrown his status with Marvel into question.
Majors had been set for a $20 million payday to take on the Avengers as Kang. But now his ties to the franchise appear severed, meaning he mis[ez-toc]ses out on one of the biggest opportunities of his career. The move leaves Marvel Studios looking to recast the integral MCU villain role that Majors originally won. This will require a major shifting of long-developing plans centered on Kang as the overarching Phase 6 baddie.
Will Any Actor Now Match Jonathan Majors’ Planned $20M Kang Salary?
As per Variety, Jonathan Majors was reportedly set for $20M in back-end compensation just for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty alone, marking one of the largest single-film payouts ever by Marvel. This would have far exceeded what the previous ultimate MCU villain Josh Brolin earned as Thanos across multiple Avengers films.
In being cut loose, Majors now waves goodbye to what could have been the highest superhero movie salary outside of Robert Downey Jr.’s massive $75M for Avengers: Endgame. It will be a tall task for Marvel now to match that planned payday with a different star. The salary also puts Majors in elite company alongside Chris Hemsworth ($20 million for Thor: Love and Thunder) and Scarlett Johansson ($20 million for Black Widow).
Finding a viable replacement with both the talent and existing MCU equity of Majors won’t come cheap. Especially for such a pivotal new character like Kang, the foundation of the wider Phase 6 storyline going forward.
For now, at least it appears no actor will reach the heights of financial compensation planned for the dismissed Majors as Kang – a sizable blow to Marvel’s budgeting.
Uncertain Path Forward for Kang the Conqueror Character
While Marvel looks to recast, there are bigger questions around how Kang’s removal impacts developing projects like Loki Season 2 and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, where the character was expected to play an integral part.
Significant writing and concepts may need reworking to account for Kang’s abrupt exit and a new mystery actor in the role. Still, Marvel Studios has pulled off surprising recastings and major story pivots smoothly before.
But replacing Jonathan Majors and his unique presence looks to be one of their most difficult challenges yet. Exactly who Kang is now and what he means for the wider universe remains very uncertain without Majors at the helm.
Fans eager to see Majors bring Kang to life will surely be disappointed by his untimely departure from Marvel Canon. But, the studio ultimately responded to growing concerns by cutting ties – no matter the creative headache left behind trying to fill his villain shoes.
