Netflix Giving Jonathan Majors Another Movie Despite Assault Allegations
Netflix has apparently joined Disney as the next entertainment conglomerate to appear unphased by the assault allegations against actor Jonathan Majors. At least, that’s how it looks on the surface. A recent post from the director of The Harder They Fall, the hit Netflix western starring Majors, hinted at a sequel while making no mention of recasting whatsoever.
Jeymes Samuel, who posts on X as The Bullitts, recently responded to a fan’s wish that there were a second The Harder They Fall in development with two words, “…There is.” The director responded to a few of the comments beneath his announcement but never once addressed the scandal surrounding The Harder They Fall‘s lead actor, Jonathan Majors.
The Harder They Fall is one of the few predominantly Black Westerns in existence, making its success a huge win for representation in Hollywood. A sequel would be a welcome addition to the niche genre if it weren’t for the albatross of Jonathan Majors’s assault allegations hanging around the production’s neck.
While nothing about the short announcement specifically says that Jonathan Majors will be back as Nat Love in The Harder They Fall sequel, Netflix’s overall silence on the matter doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the role will be recast.
Jonathan Majors was arrested earlier this year on charges of misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment stemming from an alleged incident involving his girlfriend at the time. Since then, more alleged victims have come forward with tales of Major’s supposedly toxic behavior, causing the actor to be dropped by his management and PR team and even uninvited from this year’s Met Gala.
Meanwhile, Disney, who set Majors up as the big bad for the next few Phases of the MCU, has been conspicuously silent, choosing not to issue any statements regarding the allegation. Cue Tim Robinson of I Think You Should Leave screaming, “I’m not worried about it!”
That means that until the studio says otherwise, it would appear that Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror will continue to be the driving force behind the next chapter of the MCU.
And though Jonathan Majors’ role in The Harder They Fall isn’t on the level of the multitiered plan to have him play Kang the Conqueror in any number of Marvel projects, if Netflix is going forward with a sequel to the popular Western, it would be nice if they acknowledged the situation. Even Warner Bros. did the bare minimum after Ezra Miller’s controversies and stated publicly that the actor was getting help.
With nothing but a single social media post to go by, it feels premature to assume that Netflix won’t either recast Jonathan Majors or at least mention his situation in any official capacity. On the other hand, they may not have to. A second post the day after Samuel teased a sequel further teased that the new film could be a prequel.
After a fan responded to Samuel’s first with their wish for a prequel centered around the formation of Idris Elba’s outlaw gang, the director playfully scolded the fan for being “so damned psychic!” Could making The Harder They Fall 2 a prequel be the loophole that allows Netflix to continue to ignore the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors? It’s always possible. We’ll know more once Jeymes Samuel drops some more info about the upcoming project.
