Colman Domingo Replacing Jonathan Majors As Kang - A Marvel Casting Rumor Explained
After a verdict was reached finding Jonathan Majors guilty of assault and harassment, Marvel Studios fired the Kang actor from upcoming projects. As such, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in limbo for the time being as studio heads try to figure out the best course forward. Majors' Kang the Conqueror was supposed to be the next big threat, leading up to his own movie with "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty." Any news on Kang's future should be taken with a heavy grain of salt, but Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman claims Marvel is considering replacing Majors with a terrific performer.
While some MCU fan art had people wishing Denzel Washington could play Kang, Richtman posted on Patreon that Marvel is looking at Colman Domingo to take on the role as an option. Domingo is riding high off of a fantastic 2023 with parts in "The Color Purple," "Rustin," and even voicing Unicron in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." If rumors are to be believed, Marvel wants to hitch its wagon to the actor to see the Kang Dynasty come to fruition.
It's still early on in the process, so anything could still happen. Colman Domingo improves anything he's in, so Marvel would be lucky to get him for anything, Kang or otherwise. But what route Marvel ultimately takes remains to be seen.
Colman Domingo said previously he'd want to play a Marvel villain
If Colman Domingo was cast as Kang, it would be exceptionally fortuitous. In a 2021 interview with AwardsWatch, Domingo was asked if he'd ever do something with Marvel, especially seeing how Nia DaCosta worked on "The Marvels." Domingo and DaCosta worked together previously on "Candyman," and the actor sounded game for anything, "I'm jumping in ... I think I want to play the villain. I just want to be the villain. I don't want to be the good guy. I actually want to do some really nasty, dirty work, so I want [Nia] to call me for a villain." "The Marvels" has come and gone, but maybe Marvel heard his plea and will give him a shot at one of the all-time great villains from the comics.
Recasting Kang with someone (even if it's not Domingo) makes sense, given how much the character and his variants have been built up already. It might seem weird to pretend like none of it ever happened, but if another Marvel rumor concerning the Beyonder is accurate, perhaps that could be Domingo's in.
"The Kang Dynasty" was supposed to lead into "Avengers: Secret Wars," which has Beyonder as a prominent character in the comics. Marvel Studios could change Beyonder's origin to make him an extremely powerful Kang variant, which Domingo could portray. We've already seen with Spider-Man and Loki that variants can look vastly different from one another, so Domingo could carry on the Kang legacy while completing this Multiversal arc.
Or Marvel could go in an entirely different direction. It's honestly anyone's guess what could play out, given the unprecedented territory Marvel finds itself in.