Marvel Studios
After the events of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, Marvel Studios set up the character Kang the Conqueror, played by rising actor Jonathan Majors. That ultimately never came to fruition, however, as Majors’ legal troubles saw him dropped by the studio.
With Jonathan Majors’ career unraveling, Marvel Studios was forced to pivot away from Kang as its next “big bad” and did so by renaming Avengers: Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday, and casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
Since moving on from Jonathan Majors, however, there was speculation that Marvel was exploring recasting the character, as Kang is uniquely easy to recast given his multiversal nature, with two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo’s name being often suggested as an ideal fit.
Domingo, who is coming off his second consecutive Best Actor nominee at the Academy Awards, recently revealed that he actually spoke with Marvel about the Kang rumors, ultimately deciding that he’d rather play his own character.
“I think there had been conversations of me coming to Marvel in some way. So we [Domingo and his PR team] did follow up with a sit-down meeting with the heads of Marvel. So we did do that, and we talked openly about the landscape of Marvel or even the Kang rumors,” Domingo told Slash Film.
“But I feel like I want a role to be mine, whatever that role is, whatever I develop. Something didn’t feel right of me, like, ‘Oh, would I replace someone?’ No, I want to build something from the ground up that’s my own.”
Domingo added that while he wasn’t interested in taking over Kang, there’s “still talks” with Marvel about a potential role in the future.
“I feel like that was never a conversation from my point of view, if I was discussed [to take over Kang]. I still don’t know if I was discussed, but I just know that I would want to build something up from the ground up. So, there’s still talks.”
The next movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first of 2025, will be released on Friday when Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters. This year will also see Marvel Studios release Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.