Jonathan Majors‘ continuing involvement in the MCU has been called into question ever since the alarming news emerged that he had been arrested on assault and harassment charges, but the writing is certainly on the wall now following the update that the Creed III star has been dropped by both his talent management and PR company. Even if Marvel Studios reportedly has no current plans to replace him, the odds of the franchise having to find itself a new Kang the Conqueror are looking high.
Given this, Marvel fans haven’t been able to stop themselves from trying to find the perfect person to play Kang 2.0., with the names being batted around ranging from up-and-coming stars like Swarm‘s Damson Idris to Star Wars favorite John Boyega. Going in the opposite direction, though, one fancast that’s gaining some popularity online pitches a literal living legend of the acting industry as Majors’ replacement. Could we ever see Denzel Washington portray an older Kang?
No one would turn down the chance to have someone of Washington’s caliber in the MCU, so of course this Reddit thread is full of praise for the Hollywood heavyweight who could definitely embrace the challenge of playing so many variants of the same character.
Ironically, however, the only dissenting replies came from those thinking Denzel’s son, John David Washington, would be a better choice.
Although, given the whole variant thing, even that wouldn’t preclude Washington Snr. from playing Kang too. The father and son duo could team up as the older and younger Kangs.
Having Denzel Washington step in as Kang might seem a little far-fetched, but it’s actually not that different from what’s happening with General Ross. Following William Hurt’s death, Marvel has found the perfect way to distract fans from his incoming recast in Captain America: New World Order —they’ve hired Harrison Ford, inducing a ton of excitement for Ford’s MCU debut and overshadowing any potential backlash to Hurt’s replacement.
Even so, the Kang controversy is its own situation, so we’ll just have to see if and how Marvel manages to conquer it.