‘Thunderbolts’ Swaps Ayo Edebiri With Geraldine Viswanathan Due To Scheduling Conflicts
Ayo Edebiri, who joined the cast of Marvel’s Thunderbolts last year, has had to depart the project due to a scheduling conflict. According to Deadline, Blockers and Drive-Away Dolls star Geraldine Viswanathan will take her place in the film.
Edebiri is now the second actress, following Steven Yeun, to depart the project due to scheduling — likely caused by the six-month work stoppage last year that forced Thunderbolts to push back its production start. We got news late last week that Lewis Pullman is Marvel’s top choice to replace Yeun, who was all but confirmed to be playing Sentry. Details on Edebiri/Viswanathan’s character remain under wraps, though she was rumored to be playing Val’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) assistant.
Jake Schreier is directing Thunderbolts, which is supposed to start shooting this Spring. Lee Sung Jin penned a page-one rewrite of the script last year, but it’s been speculated that more writers have boarded the project since. The cast includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val, along with Florence Pugh’s Yelena, Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier/Bucky, David Harbour as the Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as the US Agent, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost.
Edebiri is now an Emmy-winning actress for The Bear, which was renewed for a third season and could be why she has to depart from Marvel’s pic. She has two projects in post and is filming James L. Brooks’ Ella McCay. Viswanathan has had a few minor roles over the years but is about to break out with Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls. (Personally, she was one of my picks for Lois Lane, along with her co-star Margaret Qualley.)
In Marvel-related news, the latest hot rumor is that Fantastic Four is getting another rewrite, which might be why they aren’t filming for another while. Josh Friedman wrote the previous draft, and it’s unknown how big the rework is going to be.
Thunderbolts is targeting a July 25, 2025, release date.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
