The Marvel Cinematic Universe got an unexpected shake-up earlier this month, when it was confirmed that Invincible and The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun will no longer be appearing in Marvel’s upcoming Thunderbolts movie. Yeun dropped out of the live-action film, which is expected to begin filming in the coming months, due to scheduling conflicts. While Yeun’s role was never confirmed by Marvel Studios, Invincible and The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman revealed in a late 2023 interview in late 2023 that the actor was cast as Robert Reynolds / Sentry. As Yeun himself expressed shortly after the news broke, he would still love to portray a role in the superhero space, flat-out admitting that he wants to “do a Marvel movie.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I think it’s too early to say that,” Yeun said, when asked what other Marvel project he would like to join. “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.”
Even though it has only been a matter of days since Yeun’s Thunderbolts exit was confirmed, fans have certainly expressed other roles they would like to see him star in. Here are ten roles, across both the Marvel and DC universes, that could be a good fit for Steven Yeun.
Ghost-Maker
Over the years, there have been no shortage of fancasts trying to throw Yeun into DC’s “Bat-family”, particularly as Dick Grayson / Nightwing. Depending on the age range of the DCU’s new Batman, there might be a relatively new character that’s an even better fit — Minhkhoa Khan / Ghost-Maker. An old friend of Bruce’s, Khan took his aspirations of being a vigilante down a much darker path, toeing the line of good and evil in the present day.
Whether leading Batman Incorporated or simply being an adversary to Bruce, Yeun could be a fascinating foil to the tropes surrounding DC’s Dark Knight — and don a pretty cool costume, too.
Cyclops
The MCU’s X-Men reboot is seemingly just a few years away, so there’s no shortage of speculation about who will portray Marvel’s merry mutants. Depending on what age range they go for with the “Original Five” X-Men, Yeun could easily be a good fit for Scott Summers / Cyclops, providing a new take on the character from what James Marsden and Tye Sheridan previously did.
Plus, it’s easy to imagine Yeun donning Scott’s iconic Jim Lee-era leather jacket.
Alec Holland
Another project down the superhero movie pipeline is the DC Universe’s reboot of Swamp Thing, which will be helmed by Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold. Although the origin story of Alec Holland / Swamp Thing has been told in live-action multiple times over, it’s safe to assume that Mangold will provide a distinct stamp on it — and casting Yeun as the character’s human form would be an interesting way to do so.
Yeun could easily embody the tortured scientist side of Alec, helping endear the audience to the character before he transforms into the (practical or CGI) monster.
Beast
Flipping back to the MCU’s X-Men reboot, there have been quite a few fans who have wanted to see Yeun portray Hank McCoy / Beast. Sure, he would be another CGI-heavy character. And sure, Kelsey Grammer’s previous incarnation of the character has now entered the franchise’s fold thanks to the multiverse. But there’s no denying that Yeun would make an unexpected choice to portray the long-running X-Men and Avengers member.
The Question
While nothing has yet been confirmed by DC Studios, a solo project centered around Vic Sage / The Question has been something that fans want to see. Depending on how old the character ends up being in the new DCU, Yeun could be a pretty fascinating choice, embodying the charming and bizarre in equal measure. And even though The Question spends most of his time sleuthing behind a mask that hides his facial features, that feels like an acting challenge that Yeun could take in stride.
Richard Rory
Admittedly, Richard Rory — the civilian best friend and ally of Marvel’s Man-Thing — is far from a household name. But after the event of 2022’s MCU special presentation Werewolf by Night, it’s more likely than ever that the character could show up in live action.
Based purely on how he portrayed Glenn on The Walking Dead, Yeun could handle the unlucky but lovable nature of Richard Rory, easily turning him into a fan-favorite MCU character. Plus, if the franchise wanted to cash in on the comic-accurate romance between Richard and Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), casting Yeun in that role would easily break the Internet.
Richard Dragon
Another Richard who Yeun could be a good fit for is DC’s Richard Dragon, who has not been adapted into live-action outside of loosely inspiring the Arrow crime boss Ricardo Diaz. The original incarnation of the character is one of DC’s most prominent martial artists, becoming a bit of a dark horse among his fellow heroes and villains.
While there’s absolutely no indication that Richard Dragon will be joining the DCU anytime soon, the 2021 animated film Batman: Soul of the Dragon showed an easy way to reimagine him as a Bruce Lee-inspired Asian action hero. If the same approach was taken in live-action, Yeun could be an awesome fit.
Mister Negative
Thanks to the recent Spider-Man video game series, a whole new generation of Marvel fans are more acquainted with Martin Li / Mister Negative. The relatively recent supervillain is not only a formidable mob boss in New York City, but has a number of superpowers and an inverted aesthetic thanks to a drug experiment gone wrong.
If Sony and Marvel want to bring Mister Negative into live-action — either as a foe for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man or as a standalone character in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe — it would be fun to see Yeun take on the job.
Doctor Polaris
The upcoming DCU slate features the long-awaited television series Lanterns, which is set to bring facets of the Green Lantern mythos to life. While there is no indication at this point as to which heroes and villains will join Hal Jordan and John Stewart in the show’s cast, one long-running antagonist has been Doctor Polaris — and Yeun could easily fill the role in a fun way.
Whether its the original Doctor Polaris, mad scientist Neal Emerson, or his successor John Nichol, Yeun could bring the mix of charm and maniacal energy that the role requires. It wouldn’t quite be the same exact archetype as Sentry, but it still would have a lot of potential.
Anyone From the Squadron Supreme
And finally, if Yeun and Marvel Studios did decide to collaborate again, there are a number of roles of Marvel’s Squadron Supreme that he could be a good fit for. The team, which originated as the company’s parody of DC’s Justice League, later took on a life of their own — and have been something that fans have wanted to see in the MCU for years.
The Sentry-esque role of Hyperion, or even other superheroes on the team like Doctor Polaris or The Whizzer, would definitely be fun to see Yeun portray.
***
What superhero role would you like to see Yeun take on? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
