When Marvel Studios introduced Kang (a.k.a. He Who Remains) in\u00a0Loki, the stage was set for the MCU to get a\u00a0more formidable big bad than even Thanos.<\/p>\n
However, the studio made a major misstep by adding\u00a0his most well-known Variant, Kang the Conqueror, to\u00a0Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. In the movie, the Kang we expected to be the Multiverse Saga’s endgame\u00a0was soundly beaten by the title heroes. Then, to make matters worse, rising star Jonathan Majors was dropped from the role after a well-publicised domestic abuse trial.<\/p>\n
Marvel Studios has since decided to move on from Kang and will instead focus on Doctor Doom in the next\u00a0Avengers\u00a0movies. The Kang Dynasty has been retitled Doomsday, and the time traveller’s story is likely to end with\u00a0a few lines of throwaway dialogue next December.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner was asked about media coverage in 2019, which alleged\u00a0violence, threats, and dangerous drug use in his marriage with ex-wife\u00a0Sonni Pacheco, and how that differs from Majors’ situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I don’t know. I don’t know what the difference is between gossip and anything else,” the actor replied. “I don’t know enough about Jonathan and his situation to know. I know they had big plans for that character, that’s for sure. Whatever transpired…that sucks, I think. The due diligence really has to be played out.”<\/p>\n
Pushed to elaborate, Renner spoke in general terms about how online coverage of any situation like this can factor into how a company like Disney handles the fallout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There’s a bigger kind of scope to that. The idea of public opinion becoming part of the court process…when did public opinion become more valuable than the actual truth in any situation?” he mused.\u00a0“We’ve had that for a while with social media and all that stuff. I think it’s kind of dangerous. All the cancel culture and all that stuff. It makes me want to run and hide.”<\/p>\n