In an MCU age where almost every bit of information is kept under lock and key, Robert Kirkman just revealed a bombshell casting decision for The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun, ahead of any official announcement from Marvel.
Robert Kirkman and Steven Yeun have been tied to projects together for over a decade, starting with The Walking Dead (2010-2016) and into the former’s comic book series-turned-hit Amazon TV animated show Invincible — where Steven Yeun voices the lead role. Today, Robert Kirkman has let a bit of information slip that is normally not how things get announced in the MCU, without a grandiose announcement of a new character entering the fold—think Will Poulter as Adam Warlock—and just spilled the beans on the character Yuen is set to play in the upcoming Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
On the popular art YouTube channel of artist David Finch, Robert Kirkman appears as a guest for an interview, while Finch draws Invincible‘s Omni-man. In this interview, Kirkman seemingly drops the casting decision without filter and details how he found out about Steven Yeun’s planned casting as Sentry in Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Kirkman says, “My good friend Steven Yeun is playing the Sentry in a movie,” with “Yeah, he called me, he went in for a costume fitting… I hope I’m not… I don’t think this is a spoiler or anything that will get anybody in trouble. I don’t know, maybe. We’ll see. I don’t care. I don’t work for Marvel. What are they going to do to me?”
Kirkman then went on to say Steven Yeun joked about only portraying characters that don yellow and blue. While we won’t likely see Steven Yeun portray X-Men’s Wolverine anytime soon, this is a huge development for the upcoming Marvel’s Thunderbolts film that was announced back in June 2022. Then, Jake Schreier was tagged for directorial duties, and Eric Pearson was writing the screenplay.
Other cast members of Marvel’s Thunderbolts include Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell as John Walker (or U.S. Agent), Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is set to reprise her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine for the film as well.
While it remains to be seen whether Marvel or Disney will make an official announcement in response to Kirkman spilling the beans (or whether the casting option is confirmed), only time will tell as Thunderbolts is set to hit theatres in June 2025.
