Jonathan Majors was a star on the rise following the success of Lovecraft Country, which he parlayed into roles in movies like Creed III and into a major part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He had already debuted as He Who Remains in Season 1 of Loki when the actor was arrested for assault. And while Majors lost several jobs in the aftermath of the arrest, he’s still officially part of the MCU. Loki producer Kevin Wright says the arrest didn’t have an impact on Loki Season 2, and it sounds like any changes to the plan with Majors (if they happen) won’t be until after the situation is resolved.
All eyes were on Marvel following the charges of assault being filed against Majors after the actor was accused of choking a woman in the back of a taxi. While he has proclaimed his innocence, several deals that had been in place for Majors fell apart following the accusations alone. Many wondered if Marvel Studios might make changes to the plan, which centers a lot of the next several years of movies and TV around the villain Kang, played by Majors. Speaking with Variety, producer Kevin Wright says there was no need to make any such decisions on the new season of Loki because the show was done filming before any of this took place. He explained…
No. This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography. 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+.
Reshoots are fairly common in any major production, even if they’re just a case of getting simple shots in order to make the editing of scenes flow together better. In the case of Marvel and other tentpole projects, reshoots can be more extensive, fine-tuning a story and adding those small bits and pieces that connect different parts of the MCU together clearly. Yet it seems that wasn’t necessary here.
If reshoots had been needed then Marvel, and Loki more specifically, may have needed to make a decision on how to proceed with Majors. Having said that it doesn’t sound like there are immediate plans to make changes with Majors. Wright indicates that, at least from his own personal perspective, the plan is to wait and see what happens before making any significant alterations. He continued…
No. And that mainly came from — I know as much as you do at the moment. It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out.
There are certainly a lot of questions surrounding the charges against Majors. His trial has been delayed several times, but he is currently scheduled to be in court later this month. This all may very well have “played out” before Loki Season 2 finished airing on Disney+.