Jonathan Majors is set to be the new Big Bad of the MCU as Kang the Conqueror, taking the mantle from Thanos. Majors is incredibly excited to be in the MCU and wishes he could act alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the next Avengers film but understands that now is a “different era” of Marvel. 

When asked about the upcoming Avengers: Kang Dynasty, Majors told Lifehacker Australia, “So Kang Dynasty – I can’t even think about it because I’m so excited about [Quantumania] – but Kang Dynasty feels to me that it has the potential to grow the mythology of Kang, to grow the curiosity of Kang that much more, which is extremely exciting.

“This is like a Robert Downey Jr. day, he just keeps popping in [to my head]. Like, I know he’s an OG. I mean, he’s one of the originals. I’m just such a huge fan of him as an actor. I think what he did with Iron Man was such a gift to the culture at large.”

He continued, “I would love to be across from him on screen to see how our philosophies, acting-wise and character-wise, just personally, match up. You know, I find him such a fascinating artist, which is why Iron Man is so fascinating. His portrayal of Iron Man is so fascinating and he represents a very clear world view and energy of the Avengers. And I think Kang represents a different era.” 

So yes, this Deadline article is clickbait to the extreme. Sorry to fans who may have been excited by the idea of Downey returning to the role.