When Marvel Studios announced it was finally doing a fifth Avengers movie, they had a plan - with a writer, a director, and even a villain already picked out in Jonathan Majors' Kang, who the movie - Avengers: Kang Dynasty - was named after... That was announced back at 2022's Comic-Con International: San Diego.

But since then, plans have changed.

Deadline is reporting that original Avengers: Kang Dynasty writer Jeff Loveness has been removed from the project - to be replaced by Loki season 1 showrunner Michael Waldron (who also wrote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). No reason is given for Loveness' departure, but the Hollywood trade reports "the move makes sense" as Marvel had already asked Waldron to write the Avengers movie after Kang Dynasty, Avengers: Secret Wars.

This change follows news earlier this month that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty director Destin Daniel Cretton was no longer in the director's chair - having decided himself that his other MCU project, the Disney+ TV series Wonder Man, was more of a priority for him.

Given Kang originated in Loki, and they've hired the showrunner of Loki for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty - why not bring back the director of all of Loki season 1, Kate Herron?

Beyond the directorial issue though, there's still questions of who will comprise the Avengers team in this film, and will it even be about Kang? Since Jonathan Majors' debut as Kang in Loki, he's been accused of domestic abuse and assault - and court proceedings are underway in New York City. In the wake of this, Majors has been dropped by his management company, his PR firm, and from several movie projects including an adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel The Man In My Basement.

Majors did appear prominently in both Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and the second season of Loki, however both were filmed prior to Majors' 2023 assault allegations. Back in April of this year, Variety reported that Marvel plans to begin production on Avengers: Kang Dynasty in early 2024 to meet its planned release date - but also that "Disney is monitoring the fast-moving situation and has time to move deliberately."

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is set to be released May 1, 2026.

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