The reign of Jonathan Majors‘ Kang is over, almost as soon as it began. Following the actor being found guilty on harassment and assault charges, facing up to a year in jail, Marvel has unsurprisingly and unceremoniously cut ties with the MCU’s current big bad.
Where this leaves the rest of the Multiverse Saga is anyone’s guess right now, although simply put there are two options open for Marvel: recast Kang and act like nothing’s happened or replace him with another villain. Interestingly, a lot of fans seem keen for the second option. Either because Kang and Majors have become so intrinsically linked or because Phase Five so far has been a bust, you decide.
Assuming that Marvel does elect to bring in a new bad guy, though, how can this actually be achieved? Could they go the classic “Poochie from The Simpsons” route and say he died on his way back to his home planet?
Yes, Kang could simply be written out off-screen — let’s say another, bigger threat wiped out the Kangs and we hear about it when the Avengers do — but, if Marvel wants to get really creative, here are some ideas.
4. Gobble gobble, Galactus
The problem with one-upping Kang, of course, is that he’s been pitched as the biggest threat to the Marvel multiverse. So it would have to be a pretty powerful new villain who popped up to replace him. And then how do you prove they’re more powerful than the much-hyped Conqueror? Answer: make this replacement villain Galactus and introduce the planet-eating entity by having him swallow Kang up like the dragon from Shrek eating Lord Farquad. Old villain erased and new villain debuted, all in one visually stunning, conceptually hilarious minute of screentime.
3. Kang meets his Doom
Everyone’s essentially expecting Doom to become the Multiverse Saga’s new big bad at this point, both due to the incoming Fantastic Four reboot and the fact the’s the big bad of the Secret Wars comic book anyway. So, again surely the best way to off Kang is by having him get killed by the incoming new villain. Hey, it worked when Thanos offed Loki, the OG Avengers foe, in Avengers: Infinity War. If a thing ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The only problem is how to depict Kang getting murdered by Doom without Majors’ involvement. Could he hang upside down like George “Not Crispin Glover” McFly in Back to the Future 2?
2. Down came the Goblin and took the Conqueror out
In the wake of Majors’ firing, a curious contender has risen up in fans’ estimations to become the next MCU big bad. Namely, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. It may seem odd, but if you think about it the aunt-murdering evildoer’s return in Spider-Man: No Way Home cemented him as one of the franchise’s most deadly enemies, even if he originated in the Raimiverse. And the scene where he takes out Kang practically writes itself. “You know, I’m something of a conqueror myself,” he’d say before throwing one of those atomizing pumpkin bombs that he uses once in Spider-Man 1 and weirdly never does again. As Martin Scorsese would say, pure cinema.
1. They do nothing
Let’s be honest, though, the craziest thing that Marvel could do to write out Jonathan Majors as Kang is… nothing. Fans are worrying about how the Multiverse Saga will make any sense if Kang is suddenly removed from the plate, but actually, have you watched Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania recently? Well, no you probably haven’t, because… why would you? The point is that Kang is defeated at the end. Sure, Scott Lang suspects he’s still alive, but this isn’t confirmed. “OK, but what about the Council of Kangs?” you ask. Well, watch that post-credits scene again and you’ll notice that the Kangs don’t actively say the want to take over the universe. They’re just vaguely worried that the Avengers are becoming a threat. For all we know, this is merely a peek into their weekly book club and they’re just chewing the fat.
All I’m saying is, writing out Kang might be easier than you’d think. Winning back the fans’ trust and the interest of casual moviegoers, though, that’s still a big challenge.