Disney’s Terrible Year Is About To Get Even Worse

Disney’s Marvel Studios is facing potential woes in the form of Jonathan Majors, as the studio presses on with plans to prominently feature the actor in one of its major projects amid his pending domestic violence trial.

The Loki actor will face a Manhattan court beginning Wednesday over charges he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in a March incident in New York City. Through his lawyers, Majors has denied all charges against him.

Following his arrest, Majors was dropped by his publicists, the Lede Company, and management, Entertainment 360, among the withdrawal of other opportunities. Creative Artists Agency also reportedly dropped Majors before his arrest for “brutal conduct” towards its staff, according to Variety.

He will face trial on two counts of assault in the third degree, aggravated harassment, and attempted assault. If found guilty, he could face up to 12 months in jail. Attorneys for the actor previously told Newsweek he was “provably the victim here,” in his altercations with his ex, Jabbari.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Disney and Majors via email for comment.

Majors has been slated to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s overarching new villain, Kang the Conqueror, and has already appeared in the first season of Disney+ series Loki and the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

He currently remains signed to appear as the supervillain in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, a move that would have solidified Majors’ rise as an A-list leading man following his lauded turn in HBO’s cult sci-fi hit Lovecraft Country.

However, with his legal issues ongoing, Disney is, for now, sticking with Majors. This comes after the production giant has already endured something of a nightmare year in its own right. Marvel Studios, which is Disney’s most valuable property, has had its worst year at the box office since 2014, discounting 2020 when none of its movies were released due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per figures from Box Office Mojo, Marvel’s $1.51 billion earned at the box office this year is the lowest total since 2014, when the studio pulled in $1.49 billion. However, Marvel released two films in 2014, while there have been three this year.

The Marvels, which debuted on November 10, has been something of a veritable flop at the domestic box office, with an opening weekend of $47 million—far under the already lowered expectations of $60 million. It marked the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) lowest-ever opening weekend.

Domestic earnings for the movie, which sees Brie Larson reprise her role as Captain Marvel, currently stand at $76.7 million, while it has pulled in $188.7 million internationally. Preceding its release was the recently concluded actors’ strike, which prohibited stars from promoting their films.

The earnings pale in comparison to Captain Marvel which made $153.4 million during its opening weekend in 2019 before amassing $1.13 billion worldwide upon its release.

Larson notably debuted as Captain Marvel one month before The Avengers: Endgame’s premiere—at the height of the Disney-owned studio’s success—a critical juncture for the MCU’s Thanos-centric storyline. Endgame felt like the end of an era, making the Captain Marvel release all the more important.

And it might not be the quality of the film, which has received several positive reviews, that affected the poor box-office performance, but rather an emerging trend for Marvel movies.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came out in February and made $467 million worldwide, a relatively paltry amount compared to other MCU movies. Marvel currently has four movies in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time globally.

Some analysts have blamed superhero fatigue and internal issues at Marvel for the recent box-office performances.

“Familiarity breeds contempt and when Marvel was only putting out two to three movies per year, fans were much more excited to see the next one in theaters because of all the months of anticipation between films,” Marvel megafan Chris “Supafly” Markland told Newsweek in early November.

He said Marvel’s downturn could be attributed to “a death by a thousand cuts,” and “pumping out” content so quickly there’s less quality control than before.

Adding to what appears to be a behind-the-scenes headache for the studio, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars are currently without a director. Earlier this month, filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton exited as Kang Dynasty‘s director, perhaps signaling a creative overhaul. On Monday, Variety reported that Loki creator Michael Waldron is on board to write the screenplay for Kang Dynasty.

While Majors currently retains his high-profile role with Disney, the entertainment giant does not appear to be all in. Disney has removed the previously much-hyped Searchlight film Magazine Dreams, starring Majors, from its release schedule.

Expected to be fodder for awards season off the back of Majors’ performance, the film followed an aspiring bodybuilder prone to bouts of uncontrollable rage. One scene even featured the bodybuilder on a date with a woman who escapes the restaurant because she is uncomfortable with his behavior, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It could be that Disney is taking a wait-and-see approach, perhaps downplaying its current projects with Majors while also keeping him on board for movies in the further distance should the trial go his way.

Should the trial not go Majors’ way, recasting is also an option for the studio giant. Marvel has previously recast a number of roles in MCU, including replacing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2, William Hurt with Harrison Ford after Hurt’s death, and most infamously, recasting the Hulk character when it swapped out Edward Norton in favor of Mark Ruffalo.

Amid the speculation, one thing is for sure: Majors’ future with MCU, and on the big screen overall, rests in the hands of his trial.

Following his March arrest, other alleged victims also began working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, according to Variety, and it was revealed through a court filing that Majors was allegedly involved in an incident with Jabbari in London while filming Loki‘s second season.

The alleged incident led to his ex-girlfriend seeking medical attention, per Variety. The pair met while filming Ant-Man, where Jabbari worked as a movement coach, according to the publication.

Prosecutors at the time of his arrest alleged Majors slapped Jabbari in a cab, “causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear,” and also put his hands on her neck, “causing bruising and substantial pain.” New York City Police reported Jabbari had a laceration and fractured finger when they arrived at the actor’s Chelsea apartment after receiving a 911 call.

“To set the record straight: As confirmed by one of the woman’s own written statements disavowing her allegations, it is Mr. Majors who called 9-1-1 due to concern for her mental health,” lawyer Priya Chaudhry told Newsweek.

The NYPD had issued an “incident card” for Jabbari after she was accused of assaulting the actor in Chinatown earlier in the evening. She presented herself to the 10th precinct on October 25 and was promptly arrested, but District Attorney Alvin Bragg decided not to pursue the case.

“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has officially declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit,” a spokesperson for Bragg told media the following day. “The matter is now closed and sealed.”