Ayo Edebiri Exits Marvel's Thunderbolts, Geraldine Viswanathan Steps In
Marvel Studios' "Thunderbolts" has suffered another setback. Actress Ayo Edebiri has exited the project, citing scheduling conflicts. The exit comes almost exactly a year after Edebiri's casting was announced. However, "Thunderbolts" has already found its replacement: Geraldine Viswanathan ("Blockers," "Bad Education," and this year's upcoming "Drive-Away Dolls").
Reporting suggests that Edebiri's scheduling conflicts stem from production delays on "Thunderbolts." Filming was previously pushed back to accommodate the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and Edebiri's commitments evidently no longer align with the revised "Thunderbolts" schedule. Steven Yeun, who was set to appear in "Thunderbolts" as Robert Reynolds/The Sentry, has exited the project for similar reasons (the part has since been recast with Lewis Pullman).
"Thunderbolts" adapts the Marvel comic of the same name, featuring semi-reformed supervillains working together. Think of it as the equivalent of DC's Suicide Squad, especially since the MCU will be including an Amanda Waller analogue in Countess Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus). The MCU "Thunderbolts" line-up is set to include Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), The Red Guardian (David Harbour), and more. Edebiri's/Viswanathan's character has not been confirmed at this time.
Viswanathan is a great actress too, but Edebiri's exit is definitely Marvel's loss. It could be her gain though.
Rising stars in the Marvel machine
Ayo Edebiri, everyone's favorite honorary Irish actress, had an excellent 2023 — she took home the first /Film Annual TV Person of the Year award, not to mention some little award called an Emmy.
She won the latter award (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category) for her role as Sydney Adamu in "The Bear," which everyone keeps telling me is excellent but I'm apparently the only person alive who still hasn't watched it. She was also hilarious as sad teenage lesbian Josie in "Bottoms" and April O'Neil in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem."
She's a rising star — and I'll be honest, Marvel Studios is usually where such stars go to burn out. The studio makes a habit of recruiting new talent, like directors hot off the indie circuit or actors whose faces people are starting to recognize. But rather than being elevated, these artists get subsumed into the Marvel machine and ultimately do little else. Even Robert Downey Jr., the actor most synonymous with the MCU, told the New York Times Magazine last year that "Oppenheimer" was a chance to stretch his acting muscles that he hadn't gotten to work out as Iron Man.
My /Film colleague Ryan Scott has also noted that Yeun and now Edebiri's departures suggest that Marvel movies are no longer top priorities for actors like they would've been five years ago. The once sturdy Marvel behemoth has been flailing recently — maybe actors are making the right call that their careers are best served elsewhere.
"Thunderbolts" is currently scheduled for a 2025 release.