Kevin Feige Reveals Dr. Doom Was Planned to Replace Kang Long Before Jonathan Majors’ Controversy

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has opened up about the shift from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom as the big villain in the next Avengers movies.

While fans thought the change happened only after Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles made headlines, Feige says the plan to bring in Dr. Doom was already in motion before any of that.

Originally, Kang was supposed to be the main bad guy in the Avengers movies, a plan announced back at Comic-Con in 2019. But after Majors was arrested in early 2023 for allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend, his future with Marvel became uncertain.

Feige explained, “Even before what had happened to the actor, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t Thanos.” He went on to say that only one villain could fill the role of the ultimate threat like Thanos, and that was Dr. Doom. Thanks to Marvel acquiring the Fox characters, they finally had the chance to bring Doom into the MCU.

“We had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang,” Feige added. “In fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out.”

The trouble for Jonathan Majors began after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was released, where he played Kang the Conqueror. The actor was first introduced as a variant called He Who Remains in Loki Season 1 and was supposed to be the big villain for the entire Multiverse Saga.

But after his arrest in March 2023, things quickly fell apart. Majors was dropped from several projects, lost his management and PR teams, and commercials featuring him were pulled.

Despite maintaining his innocence and releasing texts meant to prove it, the public opinion turned against him. By December, after a guilty verdict, Disney officially fired him.

This caused Marvel to make major changes in their plans. Majors’ Kang was replaced as the main villain by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, who now takes center stage in the upcoming Avengers films.

Industry insiders had already been saying that Kang was going to be dropped, but they thought it was because Quantumania wasn’t well-received by audiences. Feige’s comments confirm that Marvel’s shift away from Kang started before any of the Majors’ legal issues came to light.

This update from Kevin Feige sheds light on how Marvel had already been preparing for a new direction, showing that Doctor Doom’s arrival was part of a long-term plan, not just a reaction to controversy.

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