Marvel Should Cast This Actor as Its New Kang the Conqueror

June 01, 2024

The Big Picture

Marvel Studios may need to recast the role of Kang the Conqueror due to Jonathan Majors' off-screen controversy.
Lakeith Stanfield is an ideal choice to replace Majors, as he is a talented actor with a strong association with high-quality content.
Stanfield's versatility, ability to bring humor to characters, and vulnerability would make him a great fit for the role of Kang and could re-engage audiences in the MCU.

Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige are facing a public relations nightmare as they map out the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Multiverse Saga. While the strikes by the WGA and the SAG have resulted in pushbacks for the rest of Phase Five and Phase Six of the MCU, their issue revolves around the casting of their biggest villain to date. It’s clear that rather than centering around the rise of specific heroes like the franchises did in the Infinity Saga, the Multiverse Saga has centered around the rise of the multiverse-hopping supervillain Kang the Conqueror, played in both Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania by Jonathan Majors. Unfortunately, the fact that Majors was found guilty of harassment and assault in the third degree may make him a liability that Marvel Studios no longer wants to deal with, forcing the studio to do a last-minute bit of recasting. If that is indeed their intent, then there’s no better actor out there to replace Majors than Lakeith Stanfield.

Loki

TV-14

Loki, the God of Mischief, steps out of his brother's shadow to embark on an adventure that takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame."

Release Date June 9, 2021 Cast Tom Hiddleston , Owen Wilson , Gugu Mbatha-Raw , Richard E. Grant Main Genre Superhero Seasons 2 Studio Disney+

Kang Can Easily Be Recast in the MCU

While having the primary villain in the franchise stuck in a legal battle is not an enviable position for Marvel Studios to deal with, the general audience’s exposure to Kang as a character is relatively low. He appeared in both seasons of Loki, albeit in a supporting role as both He Who Remains and Victor Timely. While he played a much more significant role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, audience reception to the film was so negative that changing directions might end up being beneficial for the studio. Considering that Kang is by his very nature a character that takes multiple forms, simply swapping out his face is no big deal. Besides, would anyone complain if it was an actor as talented as Stanfield?

Stanfield is the ideal choice to join the long-term future of the MCU. At only 31 years old, Stanfield could easily play the role for as long as Feige and the studio need, and he’d likely have the clout to do passion projects and independent features in between his MCU appearances. Stanfield is also an actor that the audience already associates with high-quality content. Between his Academy Award-nominated role in Judas and the Black Messiah and his incredible comedic turn on the FX comedy series Atlanta (which wrapped up its final season), there’s a level of trust that comes with seeing him in the role; casting veteran actors that viewers likely know from other projects, like Josh Brolin or Michael Keaton, has been a strategy that has worked in the MCU’s favor in the past.

However, Stanfield’s dense filmography shouldn’t indicate that he’s in any way reached the peak of his abilities. While Stanfield has appeared in more than a few incredible projects already, he’s clearly an actor that continues to push himself and take risks on wildly different sorts of performances. Playing Kang wouldn’t mean just stepping into a scene-stealing role for one film, it would be reinventing a character as each iteration makes himself known. That’s a pretty hefty task for any actor, but Stanfield may have the creativity and the ambition to take it head-on.

LaKeith Stanfield Is Brilliant as the Reluctant Villain in This Netflix Western

Stanfield's full range of talents are on display in this Wild West banger.

Why Lakeith Stanfield Is Perfect as Kang

Stanfield has already accomplished so much that it’s exciting to think about what directions he could take the character of Kang. The worst thing that Marvel Studios could do with the character moving forward is to make him another form of Thanos. Audiences are sick of muscle-bound, menacing space gods that are hell-bent on destroying the universe or reaping some sort of mass-scale destruction. Stanfield may not be very physically imposing, but he’s certainly able to suggest a level of danger and intrigue. There may not be a scarier scene in modern horror movie history than Stanfield’s iconic breakdown moment in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, which relies around the changing expressions on his face.

Marvel films are often criticized for the fact that their heroes are so frequently jovial and keen to make one-liners, but what if the franchise took that idea and flipped it on its head, and created a more humorous main antagonist? Stanfield has more than a few great works of comedy on his resume, as Darius Epps was frequently the scene stealer in Atlanta (a show that’s cast wall-to-wall with scene stealers). Stanfield has also added humor to help enhance the tone and mood of certain filmmakers’ visions. In Knives Out, his references to the nature of the investigation help establish the parameters of what Rian Johnson is satirizing in mystery fiction; in Uncut Gems, his wild and eccentric personality ends up stressing Adam Sandler out even more. Humor can often be a tool used to unnerve or guide an audience, and Stanfield is a master at using his skills in different scenarios.

Stanfield is also an actor with a tremendous amount of vulnerability when cast in the right role. One of the issues that the “Multiverse Saga” has faced moving forward is that when any character can reappear or return in some sort of different form, there’s little reason to invest in anything. Marvel is essentially turning into The Fast and the Furious franchise where no one ever faces any consequences. Stanfield brings out a sense of emotion with nearly all of his roles. In fact, his breakthrough performance as an actor was as a troubled teenager in the independent festival darling Short Term 12, a film directed by future Avengers: The Kang Dynasty director Destin Daniel Cretton.

It’s unfortunate when a studio has to recast a significant role due to an off-screen controversy, and Marvel has certainly put a tumultuous few years behind them due to COVID-19 pushbacks, infrastructural changes at Disney, and controversial decisions like the firing and subsequent rehiring of James Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, nabbing one of the most talented actors of his generation might be a great way to re-engage audiences in the universe, and Stanfield is an actor that is likely to cause even Marvel skeptics to take note.

Loki is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

Watch on Disney+

ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kuqTBjKSYp59dn7yvrdOhmKdlnZa3sL7SZqOao5Wewal50q2Yp56Zmrmlew%3D%3D