The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun is no longer attached to star in Marvel Studios‘ upcoming Thunderbolts film.
Rumors claiming that Yeun had dropped out of Thunderbolts recently surfaced online. The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed these rumors to be true. THR suggests that scheduling conflicts were at the center of Yeun’s departure. The outlet cites the fact that Thunderbolts’ production was delayed due to the Hollywood strikes of 2023, which “put schedules in disarray.”
Steven Yeun was expected to play the Sentry
Yeun boarded the cast of Thunderbolts in an undisclosed role early last year. Rumors soon surfaced claiming that the actor was going to play Marvel‘s Bob Reynolds, better known as the Sentry. The Walking Dead and Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman — a close friend of Yeun’s — confirmed those rumors in November.
“My good friend Steven Yeun is playing the Sentry in a movie … He called me, he went in for a costume fitting,” Kirkman said. “I don’t think this is a spoiler or anything that’ll get anybody in trouble … I don’t know, maybe, we’ll see. I don’t care, I don’t work for Marvel, what are they going to do to me? He said, ‘I just came back from a costume fitting for the Sentry. I guess I only do superheroes that are yellow and blue.’ He said he was at the costume fitting and was like, ‘Oh crap, I forgot Invincible is yellow and blue.'”
Yeun currently voices main protagonist Mark Grayson in Prime Video’s animated adaptation of Invincible.
Thunderbolts unites the MCU’s anti-heroes
Based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name, the upcoming Thunderbolts movie unites a squad of anti-heroes and reformed villains from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster.
Additionally, Harrison Ford is attached to reprise his role from Captain America: Brave New World. Meanwhile, The Bear star and MCU newcomer Ayo Edebiri has been cast in an undisclosed role.
Jake Schreier directs Thunderbolts from script written by Eric Pearson and re-written by Lee Sung Jin. Production was expected to begin in the summer of 2023 ahead of a late-2024 release date. As previously mentioned, however, things were pushed back as a result of the strikes.
Thunderbolts is now scheduled to open in theaters on July 25, 2025.
