We’re almost done with January, and this first month of 2024 has already seen some major shakeups for the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts. First, Invincible’s Steven Yeun dropped out, with the actor later sharing that this was primarily because of scheduling changes. Now it turns out that another actor has dropped out of the Thunderbolts cast for that same reason, with The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri no longer set to appear in this MCU installment.
Fortunately, we already know who will be filling her shoes, as Deadline reports that Geraldine Viswanathan is taking over Edebiri’s Thunderbolts role. Like Edirbi, Viswanathan’s profile has grown quite bit over the last several years, with her big credits including Blockers, The Broken Hearts Gallery, The Beanie Bubble and Miracle Workers. Along with Thunderbolts now on her list of upcoming projects, she’ll next be seeing in Drive-Away Dolls, one of the February offerings on the 2024 movies schedule.
So although this is the second casting shakeup to hit Thunderbolts in a matter of weeks, between Viswanathan stepping in following Edebiri’s exit, and Lewis Pullman reportedly set to take over Steven Yeun’s role, the movie is still in good shape to begin production soon. That said, while Pullman is expected to be playing Sentry in Yeun’s place, per a spoiler-y comment from Robert Kirkman last November, there’s been no word about the identity of the character Viswanathan is now playing.
The main team, however, is still an open book, with the lineup consisting of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova /Black Widow, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. Additionally, Harrison Ford will reprise Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross following his first outing as the character in Captain America: Brave New World, and it was also recently reported that Rachel Weisz and Laurence Fishburne are on deck to reprise their respective roles of Melina Vostokoff and Bill Foster.
Similar to DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, Marvel’s Thunderbolts team is chiefly comprised of anti-heroes and former villains going on missions for the U.S. government. Although the specific reason they’ll form in the MCU remains officially shrouded in mystery, between Sentry’s excepted involvement and rumblings that Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross will become Red Hulk, those are big enough threats that already warrant these characters banding together. Behind the scenes, Jake Schreier is directing the feature.
Thunderbolts is currently slated for July 25, 2025. While we keep our eyes and ears out for more updates, remember that the past exploits of this movie’s established characters can be revisited with a Disney+ subscription as you go through the Marvel movies in order and the MCU’s TV shows.
