“Live action– who knows?”: Steven Yeun Breaks Hearts With ‘Invincible’ Update After Pulling Out of ‘Thunderbolts’
Steven Yeun is widely known for playing Glenn Rhee on The Walking Dead from 2010 to 2016. The actor was highly praised for his work on the show after which he not only starred but earned critical acclaim for his performance in 2018’s Burning and 2020’s Minari.
The actor became the first Asian-American actor to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in Minari. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Steven Yeun has been the talk of the town, especially during the award season because of his Netflix dark comedy series Beef. The actor dropped out of MCU’s highly awaited project; Thunderbolts and spoke about his potential live-action movie casting. Let’s find out what Yeun had to say.
Steven Yeun talks about the ‘probability’ of being a part of the live-action Invincible
Actor Steven Yeun voices the eponymous teenage superhero Mark Grayson in Prime Video’s Invincible adaptation. It’s an adult animated superhero series created by Robert Kirkman based on the image comic series of the same name by Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley.
The show premiered in 2021 and managed to impress the audience with its animation, action sequences, and storyline. The show which stars Sandra Oh and J.K. Simmons in addition to Yeun was renewed for a second and third season and the second season premiered in November 2023. Season two of the animated series is divided into two parts and the second part will premiere in 2024.
The Walking Dead actor broke a lot of hearts when he dropped out of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming project Thunderbolts due to his scheduling conflicts. In an interview with Screenrant, the actor was asked about the chances of him jumping from voicing an animated character to starring in a live-action movie. Steven Yeun said,
“Well, I am 40. I love working with Robert. That comic is so great, and it goes so long and so deep. So, I’m excited to see that play itself out. Right now, we’re having a lot of fun making this show. Live action—who knows?”
Robert Kirkman had been hoping to get a separate live-action adaptation of the animated series made for years and the creator shared in October 2023 that they are still working on the script. But fans are downhearted knowing that Steven Yeun might not play the character in the live-action adaptation because of which he had to leave MCU’s Thunderbolts. However, fans can hear his voice in Mark Grayson as the second part of season two is expected to premiere in 2024.
Also read: Steven Yeun Failed To Cry During a Pivotal Scene in Netflix’s ‘Beef’ as It Didn’t Feel Authentic
Steven Yeun still hopeful for a Marvel movie in the future
Marvel fans were excited to witness Steven Yeun being a part of the highly awaited Thunderbolts as Sentry but due to scheduling conflicts, it was reported that the Minari actor had to drop out. In an interview with Variety, he shared,
“It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out.”
The actor explained that the production delays while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA were on strike was one of the reasons why he had to pull out. He however explained that he still hopes that somewhere in the future he could be a part of a Marvel movie. Yeun added,
“I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it. But director Jake Schreier, I know is going to do an incredible job. I wanna do a Marvel movie.”
On asking if he has any ideas on what he’d like to play in the MCU, Yeun said that it’s too early for him to say anything and he has probably pissed off a lot of people by leaving. He concluded that he’s just going to say thank you for having him and he does have some ideas but he’ll keep them close to his chest until it’s time. However Marvel never confirmed Yeun’s casting but in fact it was Kirkman who confirmed it but unfortunately audience has to wait a little longer to see him in a Marvel movie.
Invincible is streaming on Prime Video.
