Kang Was Supposed To Be Thanos" MCU Replacement, So What Went Wrong With Marvel"s Grand Plan?

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Following the immense success of Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe went full steam ahead into the Multiverse Saga with the promise that the villain Kang the Conqueror would become the new Thanos for the next era of the MCU. Years of meticulous world-building led up to the end of the Infinity Saga, and the hype moving forward was as big as it could have been. With the multiverse, anything was possible, and positioning Kang as the next big bad was an inspired choice.
Unfortunately, not everything worked out the way Marvel Studios hoped. A number of problems popped up revolving around Kang, both in the MCU"s projects and stuff outside the studio"s control. This led to the MCU seemingly abandoning Kang, and reworking the universe"s Phase 5 plans and beyond to go in a new direction. Everything that was promised about the character vanished, and will eventually be nothing but a missed opportunity for the MCU. What went wrong?
Victor Von Doom Replaced Kang In His Own Movie Avengers: Kang Dynasty Is Now Avengers: Doomsday Close The final dagger in the hope that Kang would continue to have a significant role in the MCU is when Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Doctor Doom for the next two Avengers films. Downey Jr. was the beating heart of the MCU for a decade, starting off the entire franchise with Iron Man before ending Tony Stark"s journey in Avengers: Endgame. Robert Downey Jr. coming back to the MCU as Doctor Doom is one of the most surprising castings in superhero movie history, and a definitive statement from Marvel Studios about where their priorities are.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty changed into Avengers: Doomsday, completely removing Kang from the equation, and eliminating his importance in the grand scheme of the Multiverse Saga.
Kang was being built up to his inevitable appearance in Avengers: Kang Dynasty before Avengers: Secret Wars was set to finish off the Multiverse Saga. Plans took a hard turn with the Downey Jr. casting and Avengers: Kang Dynasty changed into Avengers: Doomsday, completely removing Kang from the equation, and eliminating his importance in the grand scheme of the Multiverse Saga. Even if Kang does come back at some point, Doctor Doom"s arrival overshadows him completely.
How Kang Was Set Up As The MCU's Thanos Replacement He Was First Teased In Loki Season 1 Close One of the strongest aspects of the MCU"s Infinity Saga was how it built up the threat of Thanos over the course of many years. When he finally arrived as the main villain in Avengers: Infinity War, fans were hyped to finally see him square off against Earth"s Mightiest Heroes. Not only did Thanos live up to the hype, he exceeded all expectations, becoming one of film"s best villains ever. Kang was primed to do the same thing.

Related Should Kang the Conqueror return to the MCU? Jonathan Majors has spoken about Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom to replace him. The actor is heartbroken and remains open to returning as the Lang the Conqueror in the future. While it is very hard to see a possible future where Marvel rehires Majors, I think Kang and a few of his variants could be recast for one last appearance. Either The Fantastic Four: First Steps" post-credits scene or Avengers: Doomsday"s opening could focus on Doctor Doom wiping out all the Kangs and RDJ"s character cementing himself as the Multiverse Saga"s new main villain.
Over the course of the Multiverse Saga and the run-up to Avengers: Kang Dynasty, the MCU had plans to introduce Kang in a number of projects beforehand. Like Thanos, Kang was seemingly inevitable. Instead of the sheer power and strength that Thanos possessed, though, Kang"s biggest advantage was the multiversal nature of his character. There were basically an infinite number of Kang"s that could square off against the Avengers and that prospect was exciting. Unfortunately, it all came crashing down when the star of the show"s actions were brought to light.
Jonathan Majors' Accusations & Fallout Explained Marvel Studios Cut All Ties With The Actor Close Jonathan Majors quickly came onto the scene, being cast as Kang the Conqueror for the Multiverse Saga and having the opportunity to leave his mark on MCU history. It was a meteoric rise to the top for him, but his fall was just as quick. On March 25, 2023, Jonathan Majors was arrested on assault charges against his girlfriend. By December 2023, he was found guilty on two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault. Following the verdict, Marvel Studios cut ties with Majors, and his role as Kang was done.
Jonathan Majors" first breakout role prior to Kang was in 2019"s The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
Prior to being arrested, Majors was set to be the next big thing in Hollywood. His role in Creed III earned him critical acclaim, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was the first big appearance of Kang in the MCU. All the goodwill and hype surrounding him as an actor and his fall from grace was one of the sharpest descents in recent memory. With Major"s career in limbo, his return as Kang will seemingly never happen.
Kang's MCU Appearances Didn't Hype Him Up Audiences Didn't Connect With Kang Like They Did With Thanos Close The biggest problem with Marvel in positioning Kang as the next Thanos, is that his appearances in the MCU didn"t seem to build the hype needed for him to become that massive threat he would have to be in Avengers: Kang Dynasty. He first appeared towards the end of Loki season 1, as "He Who Remains", a variant of Kang. It was a good start for the character, building enough intrigue to get the ball rolling for audiences to embrace their new Thanos. Despite the strong enough start, it was Kang"s next appearance that did him no favors.

Related Every Version Of Kang In Quantumania's Post-Credits Scenes As seen in Marvel"s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang and his variants have arrived in the MCU as the next big threat to the multiverse.
In a surprising move by Marvel Studios, Kang"s entrance as the new big bad came in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It felt like an attempt to push Ant-Man into being one of the biggest characters in the universe, but instead it only diminished the threat of Kang"s future appearances. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"s ending sees Kang lose to Ant-Man, dying in the process. The end-credits teased the vast number of Kang variants ready to fight, but the damage was done. If this Kang could lose to one of the weaker Avengers, what is there to fear from any of his variants that would go against Thor or the Hulk?
Kang will always be a case of "what could have been" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was positioned as the next big baddie of the highest grossing movie franchise of all-time, following in the immense footsteps of Thanos" presence in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. There was a period of time post-Infinity Saga where the possibilities for the character were endless. Unfortunately, a mix of poor narrative choices and nightmare casting will be the only thing the character is remembered for.

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