Kevin Feige has discussed Marvel’s decision to replace Kang as the main villain of Avengers: Doomsday, and said talks with MCU legend Robert Downey Jr. to play Doctor Doom had begun before the departure of Jonathan Majors.
Speaking during a roundtable interview attended by The Hollywood Reporter, Feige said Marvel’s pivot away from Kang had started before “what had happened to the actor happened” — referencing Majors’ legal troubles that ultimately saw him convicted of assault in December 2023, and dropped by Marvel.
Without referencing Majors by name, Feige said that the “actor”‘s departure had not been the sole catalyst for the series’ creative changes. Instead, conversations to bring back Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom had begun before the public release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — a disappointing entry in the franchise that was largely Kang-focused.
“We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened,” Feige said. “We had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades.
“Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang,” Feige continued.
“And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”
It’s worth taking a moment to consider the timeline being discussed here. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania launched in February 2023, a month before Majors was arrested for assault and harassment charges. At this point, the next Avengers film was still titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Quantumania was being billed as a key appearance of Marvel’s next Thanos-level Big Bad, in the run-up to it.
What Feige’s saying, then, is that Kang’s status was already being questioned behind the scenes prior to Majors’ arrest, and before audiences saw the character’s biggest appearance yet in Quantumania. Indeed, Feige states that the idea to bring in Doctor Doom was far enough along by this point that he was already talking to Downey Jr. — although what’s less clear is exactly when Doom was being lined up to replace Kang. Would it have still happened as quickly — and would Marvel have still retitled the next Avengers as Doomsday — without Majors’ Marvel career coming to such an abrupt end?
Over the course of 2023, as Majors awaited trial, several reports emerged suggesting Marvel was now eyeing Doctor Doom as its next Endgame-style villain, with Majors’ role downgraded — though not totally eradicated — following Quantumania’s poor box office performance.
It wasn’t until July 2024, at San Diego Comic-Con, that Marvel publicly announced its new plans, with Kang Dynasty retitled Avengers: Doomsday, Downey Jr. revealed as Doctor Doom, and the Russo brothers confirmed as directing both Doomsday and the subsequent Avengers: Secret Wars.
It’s still unclear how Kang’s absence in the MCU will be addressed going forward — if at all. The character was last seen in the finale of Disney+ series Loki, in an appearance that brought some closure to one incarnation of the character, while leaving the threat of many other multiversal Kangs (as seen in Quantumania) something of a loose thread. Perhaps Avengers: Doomsday will begin with Doctor Doom standing over a room of fallen Kang variants, immediately asseting his superiority? Or perhaps Kang will simply never be mentioned again.
Speaking in the same interview this past weekend, Feige also revealed that Sony has told Marvel to “stay away” from a live-action Miles Morales Spider-Man, and that Secret Wars would act as a “reset” for the MCU — after which, the X-Men would be recast.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
