It’s true that Jonathan Majors is being treated differently than Ezra Miller. Miller went on a cross-country crime spree for the better part of two years, and people are still unraveling what they did. Plus, the studios are (still) completely protecting Miller and last year, Miller was seemingly forced into in-patient (?) treatment/rehab as a way to protect their career and explain the crime spree. Like, it’s not a debate – Miller was treated much differently because they’re white, and if it was up to me, Miller would have lost all of their jobs and their management team would have pulled the plug too.
I do think – as I mentioned before – that the Jonathan Majors situation more closely resembles Armie Hammer’s downfall. There were rumors about Hammer’s abusive behavior before everything started coming out, and when the reckoning came for Hammer, he was dropped from all of his upcoming projects and he lost his publicist, manager, agent, everybody. That’s what’s happening now with Majors. Following his arrest in late May for domestic violence against his girlfriend, the rumormill began churning. Majors’ legal team didn’t help matters, releasing the victim’s texts which they claimed would exonerate him, but in fact were even more damning than the police report. This week, Majors was dropped by his management team. Deadline now reports that Majors is being quietly dropped from almost all of his upcoming projects:
Jonathan Majors has been dropped from a slew of projects we hear on good authority including Protagonist Pictures’ feature adaptation of the Walter Mosley novel, The Man in My Basement, an ad campaign for the Texas Rangers MLB team, as well as an unannounced Fifth Season’s Otis Redding biopic which the Emmy-nominated actor was circling.
The latest on Majors comes in the wake of yesterday’s news that his manager, Entertainment 360, and publicist, The Lede Company, have cut ties with the actor, who is facing domestic violence allegations in NYC after a March 25 incident involving a dispute with a 30-year old woman.
Majors was set to star and executive produce The Man in My Basement under his Tall Street Productions banner. A replacement for Majors is underway. The pic also has Willem Dafoe attached. Protagonist Pictures did not return request for comment by Deadline.
Dallas, Texas was one of the areas Majors grew up in. Following Majors’ arrest, the Texas Rangers had to pivot from Majors in their 2023 season ad campaign. When reached by Deadline, Texas Rangers provided no comment.
Meanwhile, Majors was kicking the tires on a Fifth Season project, early in the works, entitled Otis and Zelma, which has the full support of Redding’s estate. No deals were signed on the Stephanie Allain produced project, but Majors is no longer under consideration for the film, Deadline has been informed.
As we also first told you yesterday, Majors is no longer attending this year’s Met Gala as one of its guests.
Majors remains with the MCU cast as their main villain in future phases, Kang the Conqueror, a character which appears in Disney+’s Loki season 2, and is slotted to star in 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and 2026’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
Yeah – even though the Hollywood system spent a lot of money turning Majors into a big deal for months, it’s a pretty easy choice for most producers to simply drop him for now. I would also imagine that many people are waiting to see what Marvel does. Meanwhile, there’s no mention of Magazine Dreams, his indie movie which sold at Sundance this year. They were talking about that film as a potential awards-season contender for Searchlight, but no one is even mentioning it for the summer and fall film festivals. Showbiz411 compares Searchlight’s dilemma to the Nate Parker mess several years ago – where Parker directed and starred in The Birth of a Nation as a potential awards-season contender, then everyone dug up his rape charge.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Jonathan Majors at Creed III film premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, UK, 15 February 2023,Image: 756345895, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 27: Jonathan Majors attends the Los Angeles Premiere of “CREED III” at TCL Chinese Theatre on February 27, 2023 in Hollywood, California.,Image: 759431241, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Jonathan Majors, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
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- Jonathan Majors arrives on the red carpet of The 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762316040, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
Yes, all eyes on Marvel. I looked into it and the delay to Loki Season 2 happened before all of this so it’s not related. But since there IS a delay, they could take the opportunity to reshoot Major’s scenes, which apparently was just one episode.
Apparently there is a court hearing on May 8th, so they are probably waiting on the outcome of that.
ETA: I think Ezra Miller’s fall is on hold until The Flash movie comes out because it’s the center of the DC Universe reboot. After that, all bets are off. They haven’t working lately on other projects, have they?
There’s nothing listed as upcoming on their IMDb page. I don’t know, apart from the DC Universe and the Increasingly Complicated World of Wizards, what they might have had going on that’s now been recast or retooled or cancelled though.
The delay on Loki happened very quietly after the news of the attack came out. It was never announced, AFAIK, but someone checked the Loki Disney+ page and it no longer showed Summer 2023.
No it wasn’t. I regularly follow reaction channels that follow DC and Marvel religiously and there are numerous videos talking about the delay before the incident. It wasn’t just Loki being delayed, it was the entire slate of Phase 5.
They can only do reshoots if all involved actors are available. The scheduled time for possible reshoots on Loki 2 closed months ago and the other actors, most notably Tom Hiddleston, are working on other projects
@ Snuffles, yes! How will Marvel handle this??? Is Marvel willing to allow their money to dictate their actions?? Any studios/producers that have the slightest bit of decency and integrity would immediately drop JM full stop.
ah thanks for looking into it. the rumours I saw linked it the 2, but clearly it is just a coincidence
Miller’s drop will likely happen after The Flash is released. He’s poisoned that well.
Majors will likely be phased out. I expect they’re already looking at replacements. They’ll announce when they’re ready.
It’s a shame. Majors is talented. He killed his own career.
It’s a shame he almost killed his gf too
I don’t think they will do reshoots, it’s to late. I understand that and I won’t ‘boycot’ a show because of that. It’s difficult situation. Actors are involved in other projects, Tom Hiddleston already cut his hair (it would be hilarious to use a wig for few scenes in the middle of the show). They should just leave everything like it is and replace JM in following projects if they decide that it’s what should be done.
The more comparable situation is Josh Brolin. The Marvel baddie in phase one (Thanos), who beat Diane Lane, while they were married.
Josh Brolin was hired to be Thanos YEARS after everyone knew he was an abusive fucker. I am not going to give Jonathan Majors any leeway, he is also an abuser, but Marvel hired Josh Brolin even though they knew who he was.
I am sure their treatment of the Black man will be horrific, while the white man who they hired to be Thanos was there for all of them to see. This is on Disney.
What he did was absolutely and utterly horrible, no excuses. But he also didn’t at any point (and correct me if Im wrong please) apologize or release any kind of vague BS statement saying something like, “It’s a private matter I deeply regret” or whatever. His team’s entire strategy to save face was to call the other party a crazy bitch and say it was her fault. Absolutely horribly handled.
Yeah, releasing that conversation as if that will help his case was the weirdest part of it.
Not only it didn’t prove whatever they were trying to prove – it also showed he doesn’t believe at all he’s in the wrong. Even if he apologized he’d have a rough time coming back, but this will finish him. He’s not a big name like f.e. Depp or Pitt who can bounce off any allegation because their fan bases are so huge.
Another difference between him and Ezra (besides race and the fact that Ezra’s project is not out yet so the studio is careful) is that Ezra tried to make themselves eccentric and that is a bit of a shield in on itself – a previous YA actor goes into a crazy conspiracy crime spree. It sadly creates a good tabloid fodder and also is a cover. Majors is “just” a violent man, there’s one of those around every corner.
I have to wonder about the release of those texts by a lawyer. It wouldn’t surprise me if JM was the one who was full of himself enough to believe that those messages worked in his favor somehow.
@ Sandra, I wouldn’t be surprised either. Majors, like many abusers never see themselves at fault. Their abuse is simply a result from the victims actions that result in their abuse. They are simply not capable of accepting responsibility because it wasn’t their fault to begin with.
It really sucks balls to be treated racially different and yeah, Miller gets way more leeway for their creepy, abusive shit being white shitty person. I hope The Flash tanks and burns at the box office. I feel sorry for the crew who had to work on this and with Miller, I hope they got paid and all that, but I hope the movie will be huge money drain for DC and specifically,Warner, who just KEEPS working with abusive assholes. I hope Miller will get dropped by everyone after that stupid superhero movie and will end up behind bars. I hope their victims get away from them and the help to recover and heal. But also, the way Jonathan Majors has been treated for his scary, violent abusive behaviour, should be the way companies treat abusive assholes.
Completely agree with every word you wrote.
Ditto!!!
The studios don’t really care about employing abusive pr*@ks so if their movies with people like Majors tank, hopefully they will realize that employing abusive and violent men are no longer employable or acceptable by society.
Only reason I got HBOmax was to watch Lovecraft and I really became a fan of all the actors. I was happy he started making a cone up. After I heard the abuse news I just took a seat back. No emotio now a days with these celebs. Nothing surprises
I feel the same way. I thought he was really good in Lovecraft, which was excellent. I was excited to see him on his way up. Ugh.
But don’t worry everyone! Ezra Miller, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp are totally fine, working and getting projects.
Ezra doesn’t have any other upcoming movies besides The Flash. There is one “in development”, but that doesn’t really mean anything. They could easily be dropped. They’re not booking roles these days.
What exactly is Johnny Depp booking? The man was documented uninsurable long before the Amber Heard trial due to his volatility, substance abuse, and penchant for delaying the production needlessly at a cost of millions to the studios. My understanding was that he was trying to drum up work but other than a few random things overseas, no one wants to work with him.
I think Depp has only a couple of European centered projects in the works.
Other than that the only thing I’ve heard about him is that he paints these days.
I didn’t follow the Armie Hammer thing closely, but didn’t it take cannibalism for him to be cancelled. That sounds too bonkers to be real but you know, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what it took for a white guy to lose it all.
It was abuse and sexual assault that got him canceled.
As a strange turn of fate, Armie Hammer also was in The birth of a nation with Nate Parker.
As the fallout for his behavior continues, I really hope the woman Majors assaulted is out of his life and has a great support system to keep her safe because he seems like the kind of person that won’t take responsibility for his actions and instead will blame her. She’s in the most danger right now because to him, this is all her fault and she’s entirely responsible for his downfall, not him.
@ Green Bunny, I do too!! I mentioned yesterday that her desperate pleas of his arrest and her continued desperation to drop the charges and to lay the blame on herself is the perfect example of an abused woman. They will do anything to pacify their abusers as they will be the ones that will suffer from the court system imposed onto the abusers.
It’s a matter of survival and we know that they will cause us great bodily harm, and possibly death, should we not resort to taking the blame. Years of emotional/physical abuse and trauma that creates these never ending cycles of simply wanting to survive. I do hope that the end result is that those around her support help her see the light that it was never her fault, ever.
My guess is that DC has done rewrites on the Flash movie to create an ending where the part will be recast and after that, goodbye Ezra.
I remember RDJ’s druggy days and how everyone complained how he got work and Lindsay Lohan didn’t. But for all his troubles, he showed up to set on time and ready to work. Lohan didn’t. It was when he finally got sentenced to jail that Hollywood cut him off. Miller and Majors have now both done criming that leaves them open to jail time. That’s what gives the studios pause.
And at that point, few studios were willing to hire RDJ because it was difficult to get insurance on him. Mel Gibson was the only one giving him parts until Kevin Feige took a huge chance and cast him in Iron Man with the intent to build the MCU around him. Their concerns about whether he would show up was reflected in the way they structured his contract – he would initially get paid little by acting standards unless the film did well and then he would get a percentage. That worked out magnificently for him.
@ Fae
Um, no.
Downey Jr was fresh out of state prison – Corcoran in California – when he scored the Ally McBeal role. Jail never once stopped Hollywood from casting him.
Even after he won a Golden Globe, the show had to fire him. For (checks notes) … * not showing up. *
There is zero chance of credibly arguing Downey Jr didn’t get very special treatment. Because he did.
i think miller is done (he literally is not signed to any projects and by the time the crazy assault stuff came out he’d already finished shooting for the flash) and studios have learned their lesson. they probs tried to rehab Miller’s image at first bc they had plans for a multi-film franchise with him and didn’t want to lose that investment. after miller debacle, studios just decided it’s better to cut their losses early. OR the studios know way worse things that’s leaked about Majors and they rather not have to spin anything anymore. Either way, it’s more than race give how many POC abusers have been given a pass in entertainment and thriving at the expense of their victims. These studios care about dollars and would rather rehab than lose $$$.
If studios had learned their lesson Brad Pitt wouldn’t still be treated like he can do no wrong.
there’s a difference between alleged abuse (which I think are pretty telling) and outright receipts of texts that you cannot spin. With Pitt, they could spin it bc there is nothing definitive…with Majors…whoever thought spinning those texts would help made it so much worse. Depp and Pitt are also POWERHOUSES in Hollywood…they produce, recruit and get projects. Majors is starting out and easy to cut.
There was a literal FBI report. With the FBI stating he should be charged. He simply wasn’t. That is more than allegations. Depp hasn’t been a powerhouse in years which is why I didn’t mention him. And again – they were FINE with the abuse allegations. It was his drinking and drug use that imploded his career. So my point stands.
I guess that’s the difference between an established star and and up-and-comer. Nobody’s going to put their neck on the line to support an up-and-comer.
POC and BLACK are two different things. Name a Black actor, who has had similar allegations and has managed to be able to headline a major film after the fact?
Terrence Howard, multiple assault allegations and admitted to hitting his wife in 2015. Went on to work on Empire and currently still booking projects.
Bill Cosby, Chris Brown, R. Kelly. These are men who had power/influence that studios/companies/people protected and enabled. Not saying race is not a factor, but this is $$$ driven. There are a**holes of all color, and studios/entertainment companies enable.
NONE of the people you mentioned are headlining major films in Hollywood. Which is what I stated.
I mean, Wesley Snipes, I don’t think it slowed him down a bit.
But I also think making the comparison between Majors and Pitt or Depp isn’t quite fair. Both Pitt and Depp had been working for 30 years when their ‘downfall’ came. They had numerous connections and were proven money makers. Pitt moreso as Depp was on a downswing already but still. A more apt comparison would be Michael Fassbender. If I remember correctly, he was on a big early rise in his career when he dragged his s/o from a car and not too much of a peep was made.
DC invested too much money in the Flash movie. They are protecting their investment for now. If the film flops then say goodbye to Ezra. I wonder how drugged up Ezra is right now so the studio can keep him under control.
I think Ezra is toast too. The only reason they haven’t been actively canceled (IMO) is because their assaults occurred after the Flash was completed and WB needs to release the Flash movie to reboot the DC Universe under James Gunn. Once that happens, Ezra Miller will fade away into obscurity where they belong.
How long has “The Flash” been on the shelf? Because there’s video of Miller choking a woman in Iceland in 2020.
Random thought here. I’m wondering if Marvel is hoping for the writers strike? It would give them cover to wait for the hearing about Majors. And then they could make their decision.
Didn’t Miller groom, kidnap and rape a 12 year old Native American girl from her family? And that wasn’t enough to get his white ass canceled? My God. Scrap the effing Marvel movie.
cc, I hadn’t heard this. Majors was canceled for choking a woman. And on top of abducting and raping a 12 year old girl, Miller ALSO choked a woman? Goddamn! The white boys can do evil for so much longer, can’t they? A disgrace. And Marvel will STILL release his movie. F-ck them.
I hope that JM’s victim is safe. The fact that everyone is distancing themselves from JM probably means that they know of something really rotten about him—even his lawyer has gone silent. The Yale gossip says he was always like this: more victims?
However, the man is talented. And he was up and coming and getting decent roles and his paychecks were increasing. So, I also really hope that this isn’t part of a rehab plan where everything goes quiet and people forget he attacked a woman and constricted her airways. And where he get a redemptive arch where he’s profiled as having been flawed, gone to therapy and is “fit” to work again.
Why Pitt ain’t being dropped