Ayo Edibiri Drops Out Of Marvel's Thunderbolts, Recast - Report

Marvel Studios' ensemble cast for Thunderbolts is undergoing another change as Ayo Edebiri has departed from her undisclosed role. Geraldine Viswanathan will reportedly step in to take her place, according to Deadline.

Viswanathan joins an antihero ensemble of characters that includes actors Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Jake Schreier, who is known for directing music videos from Kanye West and Justin Bieber as well as the movie Paper Towns, is directing a script written by Eric Pearson (Black Widow, Godzilla vs. Kong).

Viswanathan, known for her role in the 2018 teen-comedy Blockers, has also had appearances in films including Bad Education and The Broken Hearts Gallery as well as the TBS comedy anthology series Miracle Workers, which concluded in 2023 after four seasons.

Similarly, earlier this month Lewis Pullman reportedly replaced Steven Yeun in January due to scheduling issues, a change likely influenced by the multiple delays in Thunderbolts. Initially slated for a July 2024 release, the film was pushed back to July 2025 due to the Hollywood writer and actors' strikes in 2023. These strikes caused substantial production delays, leading to the unavailability of both Yeun and now Edebiri for their respective Thunderbolts roles.

Edebiri is set to host Saturday Night live on February 3, with Jennifer Lopez as the musical guest.