The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike is finally impacting things over at Disney, where a slate of releases have seen their debut dates shuffled around.
It was inevitable, as the strike edges well into its second month, but Marvel fans were still surprised to see so many upcoming favorites delayed. The pushback of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty from 2025 to 2026 quickly pulled attention from many of its fellow Marvel offerings, as fans pondered if any underlying motivations were behind the flick’s significant delay. Most Marvel films only saw a postponement of a few months, so Kang Dynasty‘s far more significant gap can’t help but feel purposeful. Particularly when the controversy surrounding star Jonathan Majors is considered alongside the convenient timing ; it’s starting to feel as though there’s an underlying cause behind that 12-month shift.
That cause seems to be staring us in the face, and many fans would welcome Marvel finally taking the cue and seizing its opportunity to shift gears. While accusations against Majors have yet to be proven, the fandom turned against the actor soon after reports of assault arose. Many people would like to see the media behemoth sever ties with the established Kang actor, but doing so presents some pretty major hurdles.
See, films and shows are typically finished filming months ahead of their actual release dates. The process of completing a film continues far past the final take, and many of Majors’ upcoming Marvel appearances thus may have already been filmed. Even if they haven’t, the 33-year-old’s presence in the MCU’s future has already been well established. He is clearly and distinctly poised as the franchise’s next big-bad, and — after several years of laying breadcrumbs — the media giant can’t simply walk back on that decision.
Delaying Kang Dynasty by a year could be just the opportunity the franchise needs to rework Majors’ role in upcoming flicks, and perhaps pull the rug out from under expectant viewers. There are plenty of creative ways to do so, from revealing Kang as a red herring, to switching Majors out with a new actor, but all of them require time and care — something Marvel didn’t have until recently. While the writer’s strike is certainly a bad thing for many, it could actually serve as a boon for the MCU, which now has the time to ruminate on the glaring Majors issue and rectify it.
Think about the role Thanos played in the lead up to his major, scene-stealing entrance. Despite his status as the franchise’s biggest villain, and the many mentions he got ahead of his big debut, Thanos actually only appeared in a few minor moments ahead of Infinity War. He’s certainly mentioned a lot, in the wake of the Blip, but his overall screentime pales in comparison to a bulk of MCU favorites.
With this in mind, it might not be so big of a hurdle after all, replacing Majors. He’s already established as a major threat, thanks to releases like Quantumania and Loki, but his status isn’t irreversable. He could be replaced, with the relatively easy explanation of variants — a key element of his character — or he could simply get the boot with a full-blown replacement taking the position of Kang as the franchise’s next major baddie. As it turns out, Kang doesn’t actually have to be the next villain in the line-up. Particularly with a bit of extra time to ruminate on things, the MCU has plenty of options ahead of it, and only one of them carries the stain of Jonathan Majors.