It still seems like joining the MCU is a right of passage for most actors; almost everyone has done it or auditioned for a role.
We are seeing indie actors appearing in massive Marvel Studios projects, even to the dismay of other filmmakers, but most seem thrilled to be part of such a mainstream ordeal. One of the latest to open up about his experience working with Marvel is The Walking Dead and Nope actor Steven Yeun.
During a roundtable discussion with THR, Yeun spoke to his fellow actors about teaming up with BEEF director Jake Schreier once again on Thunderbolts. Yeun says Schreier approached him for the still-undisclosed role, and Yeun walked away from the offer thinking, “This is actually a really interesting role; I’d be down to explore this.”
He goes on to show his excitement for the role, even if he knows there’s some backlash from his peers. Yeun says, “I think it’s less about now checking things off a bucket list and more looking at an experience. Sometimes I’ll have conversations with friends who are like, Do you know what you’re doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re making a movie.’ And they’re like, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ I try not to take that in because I think that’s the trap.”
He continues, “The trap is to look at that thing in the context of how society might view that thing. In the immediate, I’m just making a movie. Putting it out is a whole other thing that I’m going to have to prepare for afterwards.”
Thunderbolts sees director Jake Schreier helming the project. Little is known about the plot, but the film will follow a group of villains-turned-heroes sent on missions commissioned by the government. Joining the cast are 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, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Harrison Ford as Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross and Steven Yeun in a still-undisclosed role rumored to be Sentry.
Thunderbolts is set for release on July 26, 2024.