Pop Culture

Jonathan Majors: From Marvel to Ben Shapiro-Produced Propaganda... What the F*ck Happened?

After earning acclaim in various roles, Jonathan Majors was going from one huge project to the next before his career all came tumbling down.

Jonathan Majors.
Emma McIntyre/WireImage via Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Jonathan Majors went from a critically acclaimed rising star in projects like Lovecraft Country, Creed III, and Marvel’s Loki to a full career collapse after his 2023 arrest and later conviction for assaulting ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
  • Following the guilty verdict, Majors lost major roles and deals — including his Kang the Conqueror arc in the MCU, a Dennis Rodman biopic, Magazine Dreams' original release plan, and high-profile brand work — as agencies and studios quickly cut ties.
  • He is now attempting a comeback as star and executive producer of Run Hide Fight: Infidels, a low-budget Daily Wire action sequel widely criticized as Islamophobic, anti-Palestine propaganda that leans into right-wing campus and "woke mind virus" culture-war narratives.

Jonathan Majors had the world in his hands after a string of acclaimed performances and a significant role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, he's starring in a direct-to-streaming movie produced by Ben Shapiro.

Majors made his acting debut in 2017 in the ABC miniseries When We Rise, which he took while he was still a student at Yale School of Drama. After that, he continued to impress critics and audiences with his performances in various movies and TV shows, including A24's The Last Black Man in San Francisco and HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Now, he's starring in Run Hide Fight: Infidels, a movie that perpetuates Islamophobic stereotypes, and seems as though it was designed to stoke fear and hatred. It is scheduled to debut through The Daily Wire, a right-wing media company founded by Ben Shapiro. Needless to say, it’s quite a fall from grace. But what the hell happened?

2020-2023: A Seemingly unstoppable rising star

After a string of promising roles before 2020, Majors quickly made a name for himself with memorable performances in Da 5 Bloods, The Harder They Fall, and Loki, in which he was set up as the next major Marvel Cinematic Universe villain, Kang the Conqueror.

He was set to have his biggest year yet in 2023 thanks to Creed III, in which he faced off against Michael B. Jordan, and the third Ant-Man movie, for which he reprised his role as Kang. He also starred in the lead role of the drama Magazine Dreams, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. As quickly as he ascended, his star power imploded just one month after both Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hit theaters.

Arrest and conviction for the physical assault of his ex-girlfriend

In March 2023, Majors was arrested for the physical assault of Grace Jabbari, with whom he was previously in a relationship. She allegedly "sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition" following the assault.

The trial kicked off later that year, and by December, he was found guilty of one count of reckless assault in the third degree. In April 2024, he was sentenced to 52 weeks of a domestic violence program and probation. Amid the media circus of the trial, he got into a relationship with his now-wife Meagan Good and was accused of abusive behavior by other women who attended the Yale School of Drama at the same time as him.

Loss of major film roles, including Marvel

Almost immediately after his arrest, the consequences of his actions had an impact on his career. The United States Army pulled all of the recruiting commercials in which Majors starred; he was dropped by both his management and public relations companies, and his role in The Man in My Basement was recast. Magazine Dreams was scheduled to hit theaters in December 2023, but wasn’t released until March 2025 through a different distribution company. At one point, he was attached to play Dennis Rodman in a movie titled 48 Hours in Vegas, but he lost the role following his guilty verdict at the assault trial.

Most importantly, he lost his role as Kang the Conqueror. He was scheduled to reprise his role as Kang in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which has since been renamed to Avengers: Doomsday.

Run Hide Fight: Infidels

Now Jonathan Majors is attempting to stage a comeback that does him no favors: Run Hide Fight: Infidels.

Produced by Ben Shapiro's right-wing media company The Daily Wire, the movie, which appears to be straight-up agitprop, is a standalone sequel to the 2020 school shooter action film, Run Hide Fight. The film follows a Delta Force vet, portrayed by Majors, and a small team of students who take matters into their own hands after Islamic terrorists hijack a pro-Palestine encampment.

The first trailer for Run Hide Fight: Infidels features Majors talking about the liberal college campus, warning about how "Islam will conquer the West" through immigration, "the wombs of our women," and "using our nation’s freedoms against us."

It even features a scene of a young woman with blue hair having her throat slit by terrorists. It comes across as a sort of modern take on Death Wish starring Charles Bronson, but even more morally questionable in its apparent propaganda.

Run Hide Fight: Infidels will debut on Daily Wire+ on September 18.

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