Marvel fans rejoiced when they heard Oscar nominee Steve Yeun would be joining MCU’s next ensemble film Thunderbolts. Of course, Yeun is familiar with the sci-fi and fantasy genre after films like Okja and the box-office hit Nope under his belt. Like many Marvel roles, there isn’t much none about his contribution to the upcoming Phase 5 film. That’s expected when it comes to the MCU. Now that the secret is out, the Nope star finally broke his silence on joining the Marvel universe.
Like many Marvel stars before him, Yeun kept his lips sealed until the studio dropped the official word. The MCU has been the benchmark for many Hollywood A-listers in recent years with multiple stars having campaigned to join the ever-growing cinematic universe. However, it wasn’t necessarily on Yeun’s Hollywood bucket list. The Walking Dead star spoke with Empire about what drew him to the latest Marvel entry. He said:
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.
Joining the MCU was more about his allegiance to Jake Schreier than being a superhero. The actor and the filmmaker recently wrapped up the upcoming series Beef, which will premiere on April 6 through a Netflix subscription. Despite remaining mum about his role, Yeun’s hint at his character signaled Marvel fans might have a new fan favorite to root for or hate. Given the caliber of characters involved in the movies, it appears that the team will be very anti-heroic (a la The Suicide Squad).
Steven Yeun joined an already-stacked cast for the upcoming Thunderbolts. Along with Yeun, the ensemble film will see MCU faithful like Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus embrace new faces like Harrison Ford (replacing the late William Hurt) and The Bear breakout star Ayo Edebiri. Much like the Oscar nominee’s undisclosed role, the film’s storyline is currently unknown. There’s been no word on whether it will be based on an original story or drawn from the long-running comic book.
Before you see him in the Marvel ensemble, Steve Yeun will appear in Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite follow-up Mickey 17 scheduled for an early 2024 release. You will hear him before then as Mark Grayson in Invincible Season 2, which premieres through an Amazon Prime Video subscription later this year.
Thunderbolts is currently set as the penultimate film in Phase 5 before the rescheduled Blade reboot. Before those two movies hit theaters, check out what other upcoming Marvel movies are coming out in the next few years. While Steven Yeun doesn’t have any upcoming movies slated for this year, get into the new movie releases coming out.
