Outer Range Star Poised for MCU Return — What Really Happened With Steven Yeun

Marvel castings are usually chaotic in a fun way, but this one was a rollercoaster: Steven Yeun was set to suit up as the Sentry, bowed out after the schedule went sideways, and Lewis Pullman ended up carrying the cape. Now the character is sticking around for Avengers: Doomsday. Here is how it actually played out, minus the spin.

How we got here

• Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Beef) was tapped to play Robert Reynolds/The Sentry in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* (first reported by Deadline).
• Thunderbolts* had been targeting a July 2024 release. Then the SAG-AFTRA strike hit, the calendar moved, and Yeun ran into a scheduling brick wall. He exited.
• Yeun told Variety he broke the news to the team in a lengthy email he agonized over for hours to make sure they knew how genuinely sorry he was. He also made it clear he would love another shot at the MCU down the line.
• Director Jake Schreier (who worked with Yeun on Beef) still needed his Sentry. According to the New York Times, Marvel met with multiple actors before landing on Lewis Pullman.
• Curveball: actors couldn’t even read a script. Schreier had to pitch the entire thing face-to-face, showing concept art and animatics to build trust. Pullman jumped in quickly.
• Schreier says he and Pullman then dug into the character’s darker corners (yes, Bob goes to some rough places) and figured out how to make it play on screen.
• Marvel has Pullman’s Sentry coming back in Avengers: Doomsday, alongside the New Avengers lineup, pointing to a new phase for Bob.

The no-script casting pitch (yep, really)

Studios keeping scripts under lock and key is one thing; recruiting your lead without a single page to read is another. Schreier says he basically told candidates the whole Thunderbolts* story in the room and used visuals to sell why Sentry was worth the leap. It is a wild way to cast a headliner, but in this case, it worked fast on Pullman.

Pullman on taking over Sentry and what comes next

Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick, Outer Range, Bad Times at the El Royale) has been honest about stepping into a role that already had fan baggage and headlines attached. He confirmed he is back for Avengers: Doomsday and, on The View, sounded pretty thrilled to still be wearing the lightning.

I couldn’t believe I was allowed to be in that movie. It was so fun. I’m so lucky to play this character because he means so much to me... There’s so much about his ethos that is very personal to me.

He also teased that shooting Doomsday was a blast partly because he got to make it with one of his best friends, Danny Ramirez, who is playing Falcon in the film. As for what Sentry actually does in Doomsday: he kept that locked up, which tracks with Marvel leaning into murkier, more morally complicated characters in the upcoming slate.

Where things stand now

Yeun wanted this one and handled his exit with class; he is still open to an MCU future. Schreier had to sell actors on a movie without paper in their hands, and Pullman took the leap — quickly — then helped shape a notoriously tricky character. The plan now is for Sentry to stick around.

Thunderbolts* is now streaming on Disney+. Avengers: Doomsday is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.