The Marvel Cinematic Universe received a shocking news recently following the early exit of one of the most anticipated stars to supposedly make his debut in the franchise, Steven Yeun. Yeun was supposed to star in the upcoming antihero-centric feature of the MCU, Thunderbolts. After the news of his departure from the movie, Steven Yeun finally breaks his silence on the reasons behind his surprising decision.
In early 2023, the news broke out that The Walking Dead and Invincible actor Steven Yeun was attached to the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Thunderbolts, and he was rumored to play a fan-favorite character, Robert Reynolds, also known as Sentry. Earlier this week, a surprising turn of events surfaced as Steven Yeun departed the project even before it hits the production and filming. Speaking with Variety, the actor confirmed the reason for his early exit but revealed that he is open to doing another Marvel movie when the time is right:
It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out. I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it. But [director] Jake [Schreier], I know, is going to do an incredible job. I wanna do a Marvel movie. I think it's too early to say that. I probably pissed off too many people leaving, so I'm just gonna say, 'Thank you for having me.' I have some ideas. But I heard if you put it out there, you'll never get it, so I'll keep it close to my chest.
The actor confirms that scheduling conflicts and the delays due to the WGA and SAG-AFRTA strikes were the reasons for his early exit. Still, Yeun is not fully closing his doors to the MCU as he remains open for another Marvel film once things are ironed out and should the studio remain interested in his involvement, too.
What is Marvel's Thunderbolts about?
Thunderbolts is an antihero group from the comics which first made an appearance in The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #449 in 1997. The comic was created by Mark Bagley and Kurt Busiek, and the group later had their own line of comic books. They are mostly composed of villains or those in between the spectrum of a hero and a villain as they pursue heroic intentions through villainous means.
The upcoming Thunderbolts movie was confirmed in 2022 with the expected return of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's The Winter Soldier, David Harbour's The Red Guardian, and Wyatt Russell's The US Agent. More members are expected to be confirmed once the production enters filming. Delays affected the project due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes but the team behind it remains the same with Jake Schreier as the director and Eric Pearson and Lee Sung Jin as the scriptwriters. It now belongs to MCU Phase Six due to the delay.
Thunderbolts is slated for a July 25, 2025 release date.
