Summary
WithLokiseason 2 on the cusp of its premiere on Disney Plus, one Marvel Studios executive addressed Jonathan Majors' role in the series and why the actor’s arrest didn’t impact the show.
Lokifollows an alternate version of Tom Hiddleston’s iconic character as he is detained by the Time Variance Authority and forced to help them repair irregularities in the prime timeline. The series was well received and praised for its performances, including Majors in the role of He Who Remains. This interpretation of the character was fitting enough thatLoki’s director approved his performance for all Kang variants, with Majors' take on another Kang character also appearing inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
However, controversy would visit Majors as he was accused and arrested on charges of domestic violence, with evenmore accusations leveled at Majors after his arrest. Despite this,Varietynoted in a recent interview with executive producer Kevin Wright that Majors plays a significant part inLokiseason 2, leading to questions on whether the legal situation led to changes to the show. “No. This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography,” Wright revealed. “The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. We went out there with a very specific idea of what we wanted this to be, and we found a way to tell it in that production period. It’s very much what’s on-screen on Disney+.”
When further questioned about the Majors situation, Wright explained that changes toLoki season 2, which wrapped filming in 2022 before the Majors situation started, weren’t even discussed behind the scenes. “No. And that mainly came from — I know as much as you do at the moment,” Wright pointed out. “It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out.” This statement seems well in line with how Marvel Studios and Disney are handling the Majors situation, withMarvel Studios not dropping Majors when other companies didafter the accusations were made public in May.
WithLokiseason 2 principal photography finished and Majors' case still pending a resolution, not jumping to conclusions might be the best course of action for a company that’s already lined up so much for Majors to do, with Kang and his variants being the main antagonistic force for the current saga of the MCU. Still, Wright’s thin statement is the first anyone even remotely close to the issue has said about the matter since MCU starAnthony Mackie weighed in on the Majors conversation, and none before. More so than a vote of confidence in Majors’ innocence, this stance seems more akin to caution.
While the legal proceedings involving Majors are likely to be months away from the earliest possible resolution,Lokiseason 2 is close to its Disney Plus premiere, and it will probably be finished before any concrete statements are made about the case. With a producer confirming thatLokiis building up to a long-awaited MCU reunionand the pre-existing fan interest in the series, Marvel Studios will likely not be in the line of fire for keeping things as is anytime soon.
