Ayo Edebiri will not be making her Marvel debut in Thunderbolts. The Emmy-winning star of The Bear has bowed out of the upcoming MCU film over scheduling conflicts. Her exit arrive on the heels of Steven Yeun also leaving the film due to delays from last year’s writers and actors strike.
While Yeun’s role reportedly involved The Sentry, a controversial Marvel character who will no doubt pose a massive threat to the Thunderbolts team, little is known about Edebiri’s role in the film. However, her part has already been recast with Blockers star Geraldine Viswanathan stepping in.
Via Deadline:
Viswanathan joins an ensemble that was announced during Disney’s D23 event last year that includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster.
Similar to DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, the Thunderbolts is a team of villains/anti-heroes who Dreyfus’ shadowy SHIELD character has been quietly putting together starting with the end credits scene in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Black Widow movie saw her recruit Pugh’s Yelena Belova and aim her at Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.
Since then, MCU fans haven’t seen much of the Thunderbolts. However, Dreyfus’ Valentina did appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where she proved to be a cunning spymaster on par with Nick Fury. Will her team-building skills be just as good? Marvel fans will have to wait and see.
Thunderbolts arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025.
(Via Deadline)
