There’s been one big question mark hanging over the Multiverse Saga for much of 2023: is its main villain, Jonathan Majors, even going to stick around for the whole ride? Majors was first established as the defining figure of this MCU era at the tail-end of Loki season one before fully making his mark as Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. And yet his Marvel tenure is threatened to end before it’s even begun thanks to the abuse allegations leveled at the actor.
Even since his arrest on assault, strangulation, and harassment charges in March, there has been much speculation that Marvel would be forced to recast Kang and show Majors the door. While the result of his impending trial this August is still to come, the latest trailer for Loki season two could perhaps be interpreted as a subtle show of support for the actor, given that Majors plays an all-important role in it. Specifically, the trailer keeps the reveal of Majors’ Victor Timely until its end, hyping up his incoming return.
On the one hand, you could argue that this is nothing shocking. Loki season two was shot long before the allegations came out — hence the teaser at the end of Quantumania — so Marvel had no choice but to build the trailer around Majors because Kang variant Timely is such a key part of the season. And yet Marvel’s ingenuity in dancing around Majors’ presence has already been well-showcased in the various post-release Quantumania promos that wiped Kang from the face of the Quantum Realm.
By making the reveal of Majors’ return the big moment of this trailer, it could be speculated that Marvel is promising that, yes, the Creed III star will indeed be returning for the long haul starting with Loki season two and culminating in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. After all, it would certainly be difficult to recast Kang when we know literally every variant of him looks like Jonathan Majors. Still, until the actor’s court appearance plays out this Aug. 3, it’s hard to say for certain what his Marvel future looks like.