Fans are quickly putting together casting ideas in the wake of Marvel firing Jonathan Majors, but they can take John Boyega off their wish lists.
Boyega, 31, posted photos of himself with Captain America actor Anthony Mackie via X (formerly Twitter) last month, prompting one fan to reply, “tell anthony mackie to connect you w whoever in charge of recasting kang.” Boyega responded with a gif of Donkey from Shrek shaking his head, indicating he didn’t want to replace Majors, 36, in any future superhero franchise.
Hours after Majors was found guilty of assault in the third degree and harassment on Monday, November 18, Us Weekly confirmed that he was fired from Marvel Studios. Majors played Kang the Conqueror (and several different variations of the antagonist) in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and he was set to have a large role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward with Avengers: Kang Dynasty set for 2026.
Without Majors, fans are left wondering if Marvel will pivot away from Kang or simply recast him. However, it’s clear Boyega isn’t interested in playing Kang or anyone else in the MCU.
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“That’s not in the vision for me now,” Boyega told Men’s Health in August 2022 when asked about rumors he had an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe role. “I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas, because I know it’s real hard to top Iron Man in that universe.”
The British actor portrayed Finn in the latest Star Wars trilogy, and he’s been vocal about how he felt his character was mishandled by Disney, which owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios.
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,” he told GQ in 2020. “It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
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The studio invited him to come in for a meeting about how they could better support BIPOC characters in the future. The conversation led to Disney publicly supporting Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Moses Ingram, who is Black, after she received tons of racist messages and even death threats last year following her debut on the show. The studio and star Ewan McGregor released statements supporting Ingram and condemning the fans who sent the hateful messages.
“Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. Do you understand what I’m saying? It makes me feel like, ‘OK, cool. I am not the elephant in the room,’” Boyega said on SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything With John Fugelsang” in 2022. “Because when I started, it wasn’t really a conversation you could bring up. You know how they went through it. It was kind of like, let’s just be silent. It wasn’t a conversation you could bring up. But now to see how blatant it is, to see Ewan McGregor come and support … for me, [it] fulfills my time where I didn’t get the support.”