Emmy-winning The Bear breakout Ayo Edebiri has left Marvel’s upcoming film Thunderbolts due to scheduling issues, IGN has confirmed with a source close to production.
Deadline Hollywood first reported the news on Monday, which also includes the fact that Blockers star Geraldine Viswanathan will be stepping into Edebiri’s former role. IGN understands that the Deadline report is accurate, and has reached out to reps for Edebiri and Viswanathan for comment.
Edebiri is only the latest star to exit the MCU film, as THR reported earlier this month that Steven Yeun also left Thunderbolts. Yeun, who was heavily rumored to play Sentry, later confirmed the report; like Edebiri, he said strike-related delays essentially forced his hand.
"I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it," he told Variety.
Edebiri’s casting was first revealed almost exactly a year ago, with the production adding the rising star in a secret role. Edebiri would go on to have one hell of a 2023, with yet another critically acclaimed season of FX/Hulu’s The Bear and voice roles in both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as well as parts in comedies Theater Camp and Bottoms.
Viswanathan, meanwhile, first broke out in the 2018 comedy Blockers. She’s since appeared in Miracle Workers, Bad Education, Cat Person, and Apple TV+ film Beanie Bubble.
Thunderbolts was one of several Disney/Marvel movies to be delayed in a massive reshuffling following last year’s dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, moving from December 20, 2024, to its current date of July 25, 2025.
With Edebiri and Yeun out, Thunderbolts’ cast still includes Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, and Olga Kurylenko. Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman is reportedly the top choice to step in for Yeun.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
