Topline
Jonathan Majors, the once-rising star whose career was halted following an assault conviction, will make an acting comeback in a film produced by right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro and his Daily Wire media company, which has embraced controversial Hollywood figures in recent years.
Jonathan Majors lost film roles after he was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend. (Photo by Lia Toby/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Majors will star in an upcoming film written and directed by Kyle Rankin, according to a Daily Wire news release shared with Forbes, marking his first starring role in a movie since he was found guilty in 2023 of assaulting and harassing his then-girlfriend.
The title and plot have not yet been released, but production on the film, described as an action movie, begins this week in South Carolina.
Majors is executive producing the feature for his Tall Street Productions company, which also produced his 2023 film “Magazine Dreams.”
Shapiro, a Daily Wire co-founder and podcast host, is producing alongside Dallas Sonnier for his Bonfire Legend production company.
What Was Majors Convicted Of?
Majors was found guilty by a jury in December 2023 on one count of harassment and one count of assault stemming from a March 2023 altercation with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. He was acquitted on an additional assault charge and an aggravated harassment charge. Majors was sentenced to 52 weeks in a counseling program and avoided jail time, as his convictions could’ve warranted up to a year in prison. Majors was first arrested in March 2023 following the altercation, in which Jabbari had accused him of attacking her after she saw a text from another woman on his phone and tried to grab his phone out of his hand. Following his arrest, multiple additional women who alleged Majors had abused them came forward and were cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Variety reported. Majors lost many film roles and partnerships following his arrest and conviction. Marvel Studios dropped Majors after the guilty verdict, removing him from a movie he was set to lead—“Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” which was later rebranded as “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Key Background
The Daily Wire, which launched in 2015 as a right-wing news and podcasting company, has branched out into feature films and television shows in recent years. Among the Daily Wire’s movies are the documentary, “Am I Racist?” which starred podcaster Matt Walsh and criticized corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The documentary was released in 2024 and played in 1,600 U.S. theaters, grossing $12.3 million. The Daily Wire has also given roles to ostracized Hollywood stars, including Majors, as well as Gina Carano, the MMA fighter-turned-actress whose Hollywood career was derailed after she was fired from Disney’s “The Mandalorian” in 2021. Carano was fired after she made a post comparing “hating someone for their political views” to the persecution of Jews in the Holocaust, which some interpreted as a statement on the treatment of conservatives. Production company Lucasfilm called her posts “abhorrent and unacceptable” for “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.” Carano then starred in the Daily Wire movie “Terror on the Prairie” in 2022. Roseanne Barr also starred in the animated Daily Wire series “Mr. Birchum” in 2024, marking one of her only roles after the reboot of “Roseanne” was canceled in 2018 after she posted a tweet about Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to former President Barack Obama, that was widely condemned as racist.
Further Reading
Actor Jonathan Majors gets probation, avoids jail time for assaulting ex-girlfriend (NBC News)