Summary

  • Scheduling conflicts, not script quality, caused the departure of Steven Yeun and Ayo Edebiri from Marvel's Thunderbolts.
  • Thunderbolts will feature darker heroes and be led by CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
  • Lewis Pullman and Geraldine Viswanathan have already been cast as replacements for Yeun and Edebiri, confirming that the script was likely not the issue.

Although two big actors have left Marvel's Thunderbolts ahead of its production, MCU fans shouldn't be all that worried about their departures. Originally, actor Steven Yeun was confirmed to be playing the powerful and complicated hero known as the Sentry, and actress Ayo Edebiri had also been cast in an undisclosed role. However, the exits are not due to the upcoming movie's overall quality.

2025's Marvel's Thunderbolts will feature a roster of darker heroes compared to the MCU's leading Avengers team. Presumably being brought together by CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), it's expected that the Thunderbolts will carry out missions Earth's Mightiest can't or won't. Although they were signed on to be part of Marvel's Thunderbolts, Steven Yeun and Ayo Edebiri's exits aren't cause for any kind of concern given the reasons why they had to bow out.

Wolverine with Captain America and War Machine
Related
Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond)

Between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, here is every upcoming Marvel movie release date and what we know about the projects so far.

Thunderbolts' Two Big Recasts Are Due To Scheduling, Not Script Quality

The Strikes Are The Likely Cause

Steven Yeun from Beef in front of Sentry from Marvel Comics

According to reports, the underlying reason for both Yeun and Edebiri's exits is the same. Scheduling conflicts have prevented them both from staying on with the Thunderbolts project. This makes perfect sense seeing as how the film was originally slated to release in mid-2024 and now isn't releasing until 2025. Likewise, it's been reported that while the production start date is getting close, it has yet to even begin.

Yeun and Edebiri are rather big names who've both been quite busy with recent projects. As such, it follows that their schedules couldn't allow them to stay on in light of future projects and contracts, especially with neither looking to be part of the primary roster of heroes such as Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier or Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova.

To that end, the fault can be placed on the recently concluded writer and actor strikes which forced Marvel (and many other studios) to push their projects back. Had the studios decided to pay their writers and actors fairly, Yeun and Edebiri would likely have been able to stay on. As such, the exits have nothing to do with Thunderbolts itself and its quality overall.

Both Thunderbolts Actors Have Been Recast With Fantastic Replacements

Lewis Pullman and Geraldine Viswanathan

Lewis Pullman and Geraldine Viswanathan

Keeping that in mind, it's been reported that Steven Yeun and Ayo Edebiri's roles in Marvel's Thunderbolts have already been recast. Top Gun: Maverick's Lewis Pullman is now playing Thunderbolts' Sentry while Blockers and Miracle Workers' Geraldine Viswanathan will be taking on Edebiri's mystery role. Both are great replacement choices and popular actors themselves. Likewise, they also serve as proof that the script wasn't the issue, seeing as how the characters weren't written out of the upcoming MCU project.

Marvel's Thunderbolts is set to release July 25th, 2025.

Key Release Dates