The bad news is piling up for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Marvel movie development is still seriously disrupted after a major change.
The Marvel team is not in top form at the moment and phase 5 got off to a very bad start with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. There was a boost with Guardians of the Galaxy 3, both from a critical and commercial point of view, but The Marvels is taking on water. Even though it has just been released. In short, the house of superheroes has seen better days, and will certainly see others, but here, things are complicated for one of the biggest projects, Avengers 5.
Rats Jump Ship Avengers 5 The Kang Dynasty
Will Avengers: The Kang Dynasty really be released on May 1, 2026 in the United States? Three years is still a long time, but the development of the film has been disrupted. Destin Daniel Cretton, already director on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is no longer on the project. According to information from Deadline, the filmmaker was not thanked by Marvel Studios, but rather decided to withdraw from Avengers 5. An amicable departure which would in no way call into question his relationship with the house of Super hero. He will even have a free hand to move forward on Shang-Chi 2 and the Wonder Man series, two future Marvel projects.
The next Avengers The Kang Dynasty has therefore lost its director, but not only that. In recent hours, the author of the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, confirmed a rumor initiated by journalist Jeff Sneider. Jeff Loveness, screenwriter on Ant-Man 3, was reportedly fired several months ago, even though he was hired to write the story for Avengers 5. The dismissal reportedly took place before the Hollywood strike, but no reason was circulated. However, the big flop of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had to play, and after that, Marvel had to cut off a few heads to avoid repeating such a fiasco.
An inevitable change of villain?
Avengers 5 therefore visibly finds itself without a director, without a screenwriter and… without a big villain? The legal troubles of Jonathan Majors, who plays Kang, embarrass Marvel Studios. The actor, who was on the rise in Hollywood, was arrested for domestic violence last March. The investigation is still in progress, but given the magnitude of the facts, the leaders of the MCU and Disney are considering a way out. A replacement of Jonathan Majors with another face? No, it would be more radical than that.
According to information from Variety, those responsible sat around a table to discuss more important alternatives. And the option considered would be to abandon the character of Kang. To face the Avengers, Marvel could introduce Doctor Doom. A 180 turn which would be made possible and justifiable, in particular, by the events of the Secret Wars comics. In any case, the reflection seems to have begun and the change probably inevitable, regardless of the outcome of the Jonathan Majors affair.