Jonathan Majors breaks silence on Robert Downey Jr. replacing him as next 'Avengers' villain

Jonathan Majors is breaking his silence after Marvel found the actor to replace him as its next big villain.

The "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" star, 34, told TMZ he is "heartbroken" about Marvel announcing that Robert Downey Jr. will star as Doctor Doom in the next "Avengers" film, "Avengers: Doomsday." The movie was originally called "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" and was expected to star Majors as the title villain.

Though Majors told TMZ that Doctor Doom "is wicked," he said that he loves his character of Kang and would still return to play him "if that's what the fans want" and "that's what Marvel wants."

Marvel officially dropped Majors in December after he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Majors had pleaded not guilty. The actor did not receive any jail time but was sentenced to a domestic violence intervention program.

The "Creed III" actor also said he has not received the same "patience and curiosity and love" as Downey, who was hired to star in 2008's "Iron Man" after a string of legal issues. "I didn't really get that," he told TMZ.

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The month before his arrest, Marvel premiered "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which starred Majors as the villain Kang the Conqueror. The movie ended with the tease that Majors would return as many different versions of Kang, positioning him as the new equivalent of Josh Brolin's villain Thanos from "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." The previous year, Marvel announced the next "Avengers" film would be called "The Kang Dynasty."

But on Saturday, Marvel revealed a major pivot at Comic-Con by announcing that Downey's Doctor Doom will be the villain of its next "Avengers" movie, which is now called "Avengers: Doomsday" and is set for release in 2026. This title change implied that Marvel's Kang storyline has been abandoned, rather than simply continued with a new actor replacing Majors.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Majors reacts to Robert Downey Jr. replacement at Marvel