Marvel Studios had to recast yet another actor for its upcoming Thunderbolts film.
Set to release in 2025, Thunderbolts is the MCU's first antihero team-up film starring the likes of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Val, and Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent.
One of the film's new faces was confirmed to be actor Steven Yeun where he was expected to play the major Marvel character, Sentry. But after The Walking Dead star exited Thunderbolts earlier this month, new reports claim another actor has departed but has already been replaced.
Marvel Studios Recast 'The Bear' Star For Thunderbolts
As reported by Deadline, Marvel Studios has cast Geraldine Viswanathan for the Thunderbolts in the wake of The Bear actress Ayo Edebiri departing the MCU film due to scheduling issues from 2023's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
While few details are known about Thunderbolts, Jacob Fisher posted that the now-Emmy award-winning Edebiri's role would've been minimal and as Val's assistant.
As for Blockers star Geraldine Viswanathan, the MCU's newest actress shared Deadline's casting confirmation on Instagram and referenced Edebiri in her caption which reads as follows:
"thank you to my friend [Ayo Edebiri] for being too booked"
Still, Viswanathan isn't the only replacement star to have been cast by Marvel in recent days.
Actor Lewis Pullman is now confirmed to play Sentry in Steven Yeun's place.
When Thunderbolts Begins Filming
Since Marvel Studios recasting announcements were only separated by a weekend, all signs suggest the MCU is looking to avoid any further Thunderbolts delays.
Before the strikes, Thunderbolts production was set to begin in summer 2023 and release this year.
But since the film was pushed back to July 2025, filming is expected to begin this spring or possibly the summer of this year.
Whether MCU fans will learn of any further actor exits or new casting news in the coming days and weeks will be interesting to see.
Thunderbolts arrives in theaters on July 24, 2025.
