Steven Yeun Talks Thunderbolts And The MCU

The Walking Dead actor Steven Yeun talks about his entry into the MCU as he stars in Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Yuen has been very busy after his character’s death in The Walking Dead. Many people were shocked by Glenn’s demise, not because of that. That was already expected. But because he was a fan favourite. People hoped that he would stay on for the show longer than he did.

But Yuen kept on going after leaving the long-running series. He has several movie and TV projects. He was recently seen in Jordan Peele’s movie Nope. Currently, he’s the voice of Mark Grayson in Amazon’s adult animated series Invincible.

Back in February, it was announced that the actor had been added to Thunderbolts. He will be joining an all-star cast with Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Harrison Ford, and Ayo Edebiri. This will be a combination of several MCU villains to form their own team.

It was also reported that he would be in a key role. As far as what his role in the movie will be, no one really knows outside Marvel’s production team. But early this March, there were speculations that he might play Sentry, the superhero that is pretty much like Superman, but also manifests his own villain called the Void.

Steven Yeun Tells Why He Joined Thunderbolts

In a recent article by Empire Online, Steven Yeun tells the outlet about him joining MCU’s Thunderbolts:

I don’t know if it was explicitly on my bucket list. It was more the story, getting to work with Jake Schreier again, who directed Beef, and what his intentions were. The intentions of the particular character that they wanted me to play were very clear, and that’s what drew me to the film.

This is the first time we heard anything directly from the actor. While several actors look forward to joining the MCU, Yeun seems to be more interested in the story and the role itself. The film also reunites him and Beef director Jake Schreier who is already set to direct Marvel’s Thunderbolts.

Beef is an upcoming comedy-drama series for Netflix in which Steven Yeun stars in the leading role. Schreier directs six out of ten episodes of the series. The show is set to release all episodes simultaneously on April 6, 2023.

Yeun didn’t say what his role would be, so there is no confirmation that he will be Sentry. Empire made a few wild guesses like a villain or a new recruit by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, also known as Val, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Steven Yeun Talks About Joining The MCU

Credit: AMC

The Thunderbolts have been hinted at for a while now in Marvel’s movies and TV shows. Even before the announcement of the film, U.S. Agent, played by Wyatt Russell and Yelena Belova played by Florence Pugh, were shown that they were being recruited by Val.

In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Val showed up in a slightly more significant role than before, which revealed that the government is trying to get as much Vibranium as it can.

At the moment, we don’t know if the Vibranium would have any significance in the upcoming Thunderbolts film. But Val is a vital character that connects the team, so this could be a hint. As far as what Stephen Yeun ‘s role will be in the movie is still very much a mystery.

So far, based on Yeun’s answer to Empire, it doesn’t really imply that he will be staying for MCU that long. If it’s a key role, it’s possible that this could only be a one-time project for him in the MCU. But that really depends on the project. You know how Marvel has been strict with leaking info. So, it’s possible that Yeun is just keeping his answers safe.

Thunderbolts will be released on July 26, 2024.

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