Marvel Taps ‘The Bear’ Star Ayo Edebiri for Antihero-Focused ‘Thunderbolts’ Film

Marvel has enlisted Ayo Edebiri for its upcoming action movie, The Thunderbolts. Directed by Jake Schrier, the film is scheduled to debut sometime in 2024 as part of Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows a group of antiheroes tasked with carrying out missions for the government.

Edebiri burst onto the scene with her breakthrough role in Hulu’s sandwich shop-set drama, The Bear. She portrayed Sydney Adamu, a talented young chef who joins the family-run business as a sous chef, and a role that went on to nab her nominations at last year’s Critics’ Choice Awards and Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Edebiri has also contributed voice work to Big Mouth and will return to The Bear in its second season, slated to release in mid-2023.

While the actress’ exact role in The Thunderbolts is still unknown, she’ll be joining a star-studded cast of MCU veterans. The movie will see a number of actors and actresses reprise their Marvel roles, with Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Florence Pugh will also make her return as Yelena Belov /Black Widow, alongside David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster,

Schrier joined the project as director mid-last year. Eric Pearson – who worked with Marvel on 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok and 2021’s Black Widow – will be writing the screenplay.

In other entertainment news, DC Comics debuted a new trailer for the Zachary Levi-starring Shazam! Fury of the Gods.