Marvel And Creed Star Jonathan Majors Found Guilty Of Harassment And Assault
[UPDATE: This article has been updated with the announcement that Disney/Marvel have fired Jonathan Majors following the verdict. Additional information follows the initial reporting.]
After an estimated four hours of deliberation over the course of three days, a New York jury has found Marvel and "Creed III" star Jonathan Majors guilty of harassment and assault in the third degree as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Majors called 911 on March 25, 2023, claiming that he had found his former partner Grace Jabbari unconscious in their apartment, and was arrested after police discovered Jabbari had an injured finger and a laceration behind her ear. Majors was facing four charges of assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment (this is not a repeated word, it is a different charge of harassment). He pled not guilty to all charges.
It's important to note that Jabbari was not the person who brought the charges against Majors, but rather the state of New York through a criminal trial. As THR notes, this means "the burden of proof is higher for the jury who had to find proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on each charge." In layman's terms — the jury had to be abundantly certain that Majors was guilty. Following Majors' arrest, he was dropped as a client by his publicity firm, the Lede Company, and his managers from Management 360. His upcoming film "Magazine Dreams" was also removed from the Searchlight Features release calendar despite rave reviews and possible Oscar contention. Good.
Sentencing is set for February 6, 2024.
Disney and Marvel have dropped Jonathan Majors
Shortly after the guilty verdict was made, Disney and Marvel announced that they were parting ways with Majors. Prior to his arrest, Jonathan Majors was positioned as the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Kang the Conqueror. He appeared in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," both seasons of "Loki," and was slated to be the central figure in "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel intends to move forward with the film and has hired "Loki" creator Michael Waldron to rewrite the script. As THR stated, "In November, Marvel hired Loki creator Michael Waldron to work on a new draft of what was to have been 'Kang Dynasty,' but is now being referred to as 'Avengers 5,' according to sources." This indicates the possibility that the character could be dropped altogether, if not recast.
There are certainly those who view this drop as a long time coming, but given the high-profile casting status (and what is presumably a massive contract), it's likely that the guilty verdict is what Disney/Marvel needed to finally pull the plug. If they take the route of recasting, Majors is not the first instance of the MCU hiring a new person to portray a major character, as Don Cheadle took over the role of James Rhodes from Terrence Howard and Mark Ruffalo took over the role of The Hulk/Bruce Banner from Edward Norton. However, Majors is the first to be recast due to legal misconduct, and as such, his legacy in the MCU will forever be cemented.
This is an ongoing story, and this will be updated as it develops.