Jonathan Majors ‘heartbroken’ over Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom casting

Jonathan Majors has responded to the news that Robert Downey Jr will now be playing Marvel’s phase six villain, Doctor Doom.

Majors was dropped from the role as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big bad, Kang the Conquerer, after being found guilty of harassment and assault. He was poised to be the follow-up to Thanos, the previous threat to Earth’s mightiest heroes, in a fifth Avengers film, subtitled The Kang Dynasty.

Majors was arrested and charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, last year, and found guilty of one count of harassment and one of assault, in December 2023. He was dropped by Marvel the same day. He was acquitted of another count of assault and one of aggravated harassment. He had denied all charges.

It stands to reason that Marvel would pivot away from the Kang storyline, which had already been set up in The Marvels, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Loki, and on Monday (29 July), at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that that Downey Jr would be returning to the MCU in the role of Fantastic Four arch-enemy, several years after his Iron Man character died in Endgame.

Majors responded to the news by telling TMZ: “Yeah, heartbroken, of course. I love Kang. Doctor Doom is wicked, though.”

When asked if he would like to return to the MCU, the actor answered: “Hell yeah! If that’s what the fans want, and that’s what Marvel wants, then let’s roll.”

Majors was sentenced to a one-year, in-person batterer intervention programme, ordered to continue with therapy and pay a $250 (slightly less than £200) surcharge. A protective order was also issued for Jabbari.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has since been renamed Avengers: Doomsday to reflect the change in antagonist.

Downey Jr is not the only one returning to Marvel. Russo brothers Joe and Anthony, who directed Endgame, will be at the helm for Doomsday.

Doctor Doom is traditionally the rival of the Fantastic Four, the MCU version of which is set to open in cinemas next year. First Steps will star Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Doom and Iron Man have a comic-book history: in 2016’s Infamous Iron Man arc, a comatose Tony Stark led Victor von Doom to forge his own Iron Man suit.