The news that The Walking Dead and Beef star Steven Yeun had been cast as The Sentry in Thunderbolts was met with an overwhelmingly positive response. The actor is considered a rising star and powerhouse talent, so enlisting him to play the deranged superhero felt like a big win for Marvel Studios.
Since then, Yeun has dropped out of the project due to scheduling issues. He's made it clear he would be open to playing another superhero, but given Thunderbolts' many delays and script changes, it's possible Yeun soured on The Sentry. Chances are, we'll never know.
During last night's Emmy Awards, Yeun actually reunited with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige during a commercial break (while those take place, celebrities typically stand up, get a drink, or start talking to each other).
Taken out of context, it's impossible to know what was said or how this brief conversation went. Many fans on social media have said it looked tense, while others have suggested the two might have awkwardly been discussing Yeun's MCU departure.
Honestly, we'd like to think these two were talking about future plans for the actor in the MCU and that his decision to walk away from Thunderbolts was indeed an amicable one. Ultimately, we won't find out until if and when Yeun - who won an Emmy last night - shows up in a future Marvel project!
Earlier this month, Yeun explained that last year's SAG-AFTRA strike played a role in his decision to pass on playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Sentry.
"I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it," he explained. "But Jake [Schreier], I know, is going to do an incredible job. I wanna do a Marvel movie It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed the sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out."
As for which Marvel role he'd like to potentially tackle next, Yeun added: "I think it’s too early to say that. I probably pissed off too many people leaving, so I’m just gonna say, 'Thank you for having me.' I have some ideas. But I heard if you put it out there, you’ll never get it, so I’ll keep it close to my chest."
Check out his meeting with Feige in the X post below.