Welp, there’s been yet another casting casualty in Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts” project that was supposed to shoot last year but was delayed because of the actors’ and writers’ strikes. Following the departure of Steven Yeung, now we’re learning that “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri, is also leaving the project due to scheduling issues. Luckily, they’ve found a superb replacement in Geraldine Viswanathan, the charming young actress known for “Blockers,” “The Broken Hearts Gallery,” the series “Miracle Workers,” and Ethan Coen’s upcoming “Drive-Away Dolls.”
It was never clear who Edebiri was to play; rumors had her pegged as appearing as the assistant to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Allegra de Fontaine was first introduced in “The Falcon & The Winter Soldier” as a shady government type who had already essentially recruited the disgraced John Walker/U.S. Agent (Russell Wyatt). Allegra de Fontaine’s character is already a source of criminal comic relief, and if Viswanathan is filling in that assistant role, she’ll fit in nicely with proven comedic chops.
Yeun and Edebiri had expected to be done with these roles last year. When “Thunderbolts” had to reschedule, both of them likely landed and booked other roles that would conflict with the Marvel shooting schedule, thus having to bow out.
“Thunderbolts” will be directed by Jake Schreier (“Robot & Frank “) based on a script by “Black Widow” scribe Eric Pearson (though it’s been rewritten several times by now). “Thunderbolts” is meant to be an anti-heroes movie.
While most plot details are under wraps, it’s thought to be a “Suicide Squad”-esque scenario where Allegra de Fontaine recruits many former villains or dubious heroes with a checkered past and recruits them on a new assignment instead of leniency or as a way to “serve” their country.
Most of the main cast is already known: Sebastian Stan stars as Bucky Barnes, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, and many more, including MCU actors such as Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Russell Wyatt (U.S. Agent) and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster). Essentially, it’s mostly a bad-guys team-up film where the bad guys aren’t all that bad compared to the real antagonists.
Yeung was set to play the villain they are reportedly tasked with capturing, the character Sentry (and “Top Gun: Maverick” star Lewis Pullman is apparently the likely replacement).
“Thunderbolts” should be gearing up to shoot soon, hence all the replacement casting, as it currently has a release date of July 25, 2025. [Deadline]