Steven Yeun exits role in MCU’s Thunderbolts

(Image Credits: Palace of Horror)

Steven Yeun, the actor best known for his role in ‘The Walking Dead’, among other high-profile roles, will no longer be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film ‘Thunderbolts’.

While he was never officially cast, his role in the film was revealed by Robert Kirkman, the creator of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Invincible’ who said that Yeung would be playing the villain Sentry, a hero harnessing the power of a million exploding suns.

However, due to the film’s production timeline being delayed by the writers’ and actors’ strikes, Yeun will be unable to play the role, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed.

Speaking to Variety, Yeun said “I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it,” Yeun said. “But [director] Jake [Schreier], I know, is going to do an incredible job…It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed the sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out.”

‘Thunderbolts’ was previously meant to release in July 2024, but has now been pushed to July 2025.

The premise is similar to DC’s ‘Suicide Squad’, with the government taking anti-heroes and villains and giving them morally dubious and deadly missions.

The character and cast line-up of the film includes Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), The Red Guardian (David Harbour), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Yelena Boleva (Florence Pugh), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes).

Ayo Edebiri, known for her role in ‘The Bear’, is also involved, but her character is currently unknown.

Yeun’s upcoming projects include the sci-fi movie ‘Mickey 17’ and starring alongside Kristen Stewart in a post-apocalyptic romance movie called ‘Love Me’.

‘Thunderbolts’ will be released in cinemas on July 25, 2025.