‘Thunderbolts’: Steven Yeun Drops Out Of Sentry Role In Marvel’s Delayed Anti-Heroes Movie

Welp, there it is. A rumor that made the rounds on social media earlier today has turned out to be true. Steven Yeung (“Beef,” “The Walking Dead,” “Minari”) won’t appear in Marvel Studios’ anti-heroes movie “Thunderbolts” after all. Yeun was first cast in the film in February of 2023, and the film was supposed to be shot later in the year, but then the WGA and SGA-AFTRA strikes started, and the film was delayed and never shot.

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THR, who breaks the news officially, doesn’t say an official reason for why Yeun left the project, but the answer is pretty obvious. The actor likely had a window of time to shoot the Marvel project in 2023, but scheduling is undoubtedly the issue. An Oscar nominee for “Minari,” and a two-time Emmy nominee for the Netflix series “Beef,” Yeun is in high demand, and whatever he’s cooking up next likely doesn’t link up with whenever “Thunderbolts” is shooting (presumably summer 2024 for a release the following year.

“Thunderbolts” was initially for the summer of 2024 in July but was pushed back a year to July 25, 2025, and has yet to begin filming.

The trades don’t say who Yeun was scheduled to play because Marvel has remained tight-lipped about who the movie’s villain is, but it’s one of the worst-kept secrets in town. Yeun was set to play the character Sentry (who has a nuclear-powered alter-ego/unpredictable side to him known as Void, sometimes known as Dark Sentry). And hey, if you don’t believe us, listen to “Invincible” writer/director Robert Kirkman. He confirmed the role earlier this year, basically saying, “f*ck it, I can say what I want” (Yeun voices the lead character in Kirkman’s show, watch the clip of Kirkman letting the cat out of the bag below).

“Thunderbolts” in the comics are named after Thunderbolt Ross, now played by Harrison Ford in the MCU following the death of William Hurt. The basic storyline, which Marvel Studios seems to be following given the casting, is that Ross (who was the Secretary of State in the MCU but becomes the President by the time “Captain America: Brave New World” comes out) puts his own superhero team together. But like DC’s “Suicide Squad,” which “Thunderbolts” is analogous to, he puts his team together with villains and anti-heroes in exchange for pardons, second chances, and such.

Directed by Jake Schreier, who not-so-coincidentally directed Yeun in “Beef,” “Thunderbolts” is definitely full of anti-heroes and villains. The cast stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf, 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, all reprising their roles from previous Marvel movies.

Sentry will likely need to be recast now unless they go with a completely different villain, but that seems unlikely. So far, Harrison Ford isn’t scheduled to appear in the movie, not officially anyhow, but given how his character is so tied to the team in the comics, it seems pretty obvious that he’ll show up, at least for a little bit.