The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 5 & 6 were reportedly changed after Marvel laid eyes on Jonathan Majors' performances in Disney+'s Loki and Phase 5's first movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Majors first appeared in the MCU as the He Who Remains variant of Kang in Loki, setting up Marvel's Multiverse Saga. The actor then got a major role as the lead villain, Kang the Conqueror, in this year's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Majors' acting in both roles has received overwhelming praise, and the MCU was deeply changed exactly by that.

Speaking on The Ringer's Majors' arrest over assault charges and everything related to that, there is a huge uncertainty on how to move forward at Marvel. Check out the full quote below:

"I was told by someone who works for Marvel, it was not the plan to make Kang the center of everything until they saw the dailies from 'Quantumania' and after his performance in 'Loki,' which was so strong they were like, 'This is it. This is our way forward'... They don’t usually hang this much on one person in the way that they did here. And that has put them in the bind. We do not know what they are going to do. I've heard conflicting stories about they are going to replace him, they’re not even considering replacing him etc etc. But it’s just one more thing.”

What Were Marvel's Original MCU Phase 5 & 6 Plans?

Kang the Conqueror explaining the multiverse with rthe use of futuristic tech in Quantumania.

Marvel's original plans for the MCU's Phase 5 & 6 have not been revealed; however, with the new information that Kang only became the Multiverse Saga's focus after the first footage of Majors from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania began to come in, there is a great chance that other big names from Marvel Comics, who are associated with the multiversal Secret Wars storyline, might have originally played a role in the MCU's Phase 5 & 6, which will culminate in 2026's Avengers: Secret Wars.

The original MCU Phase 5 & 6 plans might have focused on either the Beyonder or Doctor Doom as the main foe of the Multiverse Saga. Both characters are crucial to different versions of the Secret Wars storyline in the comics, and if Majors' situation were to eventually lead to Marvel choosing to move on from Kang as the Multiverse Saga's ultimate villain, then the Council of Kangs could be finished off with a different actor in the role for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, leaving Avengers: Secret Wars to focus on a different villain altogether.

Based on how Marvel reportedly changed their plans for the MCU's Phase 5 & 6 after seeing Majors as Kang, there appears to be a previous path that the studio could bring back if required. Marvel has yet to make an official decision on how to deal with Majors' legal situation, with Robinson pointing out that "conflicting stories" are emerging while a decision is not made public. For the moment, all that is known is that a Loki season 2 trailer shown to Disney did not include Majors, despite his big role in the show. Depending on Marvel's decision, the MCU could look very different months from now.

Source: The Ringer's The Big Picture podcast