The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine at this point, one that constantly releases new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans are always looking to the upcoming Marvel movies, the next of which being Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And after Steven Yeun was nearly in Thunderbolts* now he's responded to rumors he's in the Tom Holland-led movie.

Fans who had spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will remember how exciting it was when the Beef star was announced to be playing Sentry. But Yeun had to drop out, leading Lewis Pullman to take on that role. Most recently there has been chatter online about him possibly appearing in the next Spider-Man movie, and during a conversation with ComicBook he shared his response. He said:

How delightfully cryptic. It sounds like the Walking Dead alum was a bit taken back by this line of questioning. He didn't give an all-out denial of being in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, although his comments seem to indicate that he isn't in Destin Daniel Cretton's forthcoming blockbuster. Still, the discourse is likely going to continue up until the point where that title is released in theaters.

What we know about Spider-Man: Brand New World is super limited, which is why fans are filling in the blanks with theories and rumors. Aside from Yeun, there have been a ton of rumors about who Sadie Sink is playing, as well as what twists might come to Peter Parker.

Steven Yeun is an acclaimed actor, who has earned an Emmy for his work on Beef (streaming with a Netflix subscription) and appeared on the big screen in projects like Nope and Mickey 17. Given what a roll he's been on lately, it tracks that Marvel Studios would want to get him into the shared universe sooner rather than later. We'll just have to see if/when that actually happens in future MCU projects. But whether or not that's in Brand New Day remains to be seen.

There are countless questions about the next Spider-Man flick, especially following No Way Home's ending. Fans are curious about how Tom Holland's title character has been doing after Doctor Strange's spell erased Peter Parker from everyone's minds. That includes MJ and Ned.

All will be revealed when Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31st as part of the 2026 movie release schedule.

Love Me involves a weather buoy and a satellite existing in a space and time void of humans. The weather buoy learns about humanity through social media, and this inspires the satellite to do the same. At its heart, it’s about two objects searching for companionship. They are also trying to learn to live and love. Love Me has an interesting concept but imperfect execution. Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun are the only actors in Love Me.

They start the film as the voice for these objects, but eventually appear. Love Me sparks some engaging conversations. However, the film’s main message is what I think deserves the most exploration. Let's talk about it.

Warning: Love Me spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

I Find It Interesting How Love Me Highlights Social Media’s Influence On Love And Development

The buoy learns about love and life from watching an influencer named Deja (Kristen Stewart) and her husband, Liam (Steven Yeun). It then begins to imitate the ways Deja acts and speaks. This allows it to evolve into an animated version that looks like Deja. She drags the satellite into the fantasy and has it become the Liam to her Deja. They also pick the names Me and Iam.

The buoy’s obsession with social media may connect with many because it’s easy to become addicted to an idolized version of someone. Social media invites people into someone’s life, but only the dreamy parts. Me wants to become Deja because she seems to have the perfect life. It’s representative of how people, especially at a developing age, take social media too seriously. They see this performative behavior as truth.

Most adults realize that social media is not an accurate portrayal of daily life. However, some young people idolize the people they see on it. They want their lives. Me is that child who sees social media and takes it too much at face value. There are many great movies about social media, so Love Me adds to the conversation. It doesn’t offer a revolutionary perspective but more so a reminder of how social media can be a valuable and also a harmful tool on how it sets standards.

I Appreciate Its Varying Uses Of Social Media To Mimic The Overexposure To It

Love Me starts off as a sci-fi film with objects orbiting space. It’s not one of the best sci-fi films, especially because it evolves more into a domestic drama, one with a focus on the human connection, but it's an entertaining addition to this genre. Love Me grows from sci-fi to more of an animated film when they become avatar versions that are similar to Deja and Liam. The film uses different media to show the evolution of Me and Iam.

Their final form looks like Deja and Liam. I think this is a cool way to visually display the growth of an object or person. Iam and Me only evolve to more complex versions with more exposure to more complicated feelings and ideas. They start by watching influencer videos, then grow to meme culture, and then create personal content.

Iam and Me eventually abandon the digital world and embrace their cores and true selves. It’s not until they stop trying to be what they see online do they finally become the real version of themselves. They find their identities. This is especially important for Me because she’s the one most influenced by the internet, social media, and the digital world. Iam questions it from the start, but follows it to make Me happy. Only when Me and Iam can cut ties with the fake, plasticity of the digital landscape can they become authentic and flawed. They also become a visual representation of this because their most evolved versions look the most human.

The Film Showcases How To Build Connections, But I Think It’s Most Critical Of That Part

Love Me isn’t exactly a romance movie (and definitely not a great rom-com), but more a movie about how we learn to love, especially with the absence of experience. Me learns everything from Deja and Liam’s online relationship. However, Iam doesn’t understand how this represents love. He’s a different creature, so he doesn’t process information the same way as Me. He starts to learn through experience and tries to actually feel things, not imitate feelings. He becomes a fully formed human. It takes Me a bit longer to develop because of her social media obsession, especially how it portrays love.

Love Me doesn’t show social media as a true way to form connections. It becomes a crutch. Me is so obsessed with making things look a certain way that she loses one of the key tools of humans: experience and growth. Love Me seems to argue that true human emotions and love cannot be manufactured. You can present life a certain way, but it needs experience to actually be meaningful.

Human connection can be learned, at least in the superficial sense, through studying others’ behavior. However, it cannot be fabricated. It can only be experienced. Love Me seems to judge those who trust social media too much. It wants people to go out, live and love, not just watch it happen to others.

Love Me Isn’t Necessarily An Anti-Social Media Film

Love Me doesn’t seem to support fully learning through social media. However, it doesn’t treat it as a complete waste of time. Me and Iam learn the basic human experience with social media and the internet. It gives them the basic skills and tools of humanity. However, they must then take them to the next level. I think the movie sees social media and the internet as a form of entertainment and learning, but they should not act as the only method of these things. Living and loving must be the main tools to form connections.

I think Love Me is a movie that respects and enjoys social media but knows how it can influence someone. It must be used with care and consideration. Someone must have the mental and emotional capability to know it shouldn’t be treated as a guide to life. Social media can only offer so much, but people are so easily influenced, especially in how they compare themselves to others. Social media can be a hindrance or an asset depending on how it's used and valued.

I Think Love Me’s Message Can Feel Basic But Necessary

Love Me may be a movie that comes off pretentious, but it has a quite basic surface-level message. I think most people realize that social media isn’t an accurate depiction of life and love. It’s a message that so many movies have tackled. Therefore, it doesn’t feel like this film is offering anything new to the conversation. I think that’s fine, because this choice doesn’t invalidate the message.

It’s just a new way to showcase the classic message of not trying to be anything other than yourself. You are enough. It’s definitely a bit of a rudimentary message, but still impactful. Love Me is one of the best movies to watch on Paramount Plus right now, and one that helped Kristen Stewart reflect on her past acting experience.

Considering Robert Pattinson’s sci-fi rom-com Mickey 17 debuted during the 2025’s movie schedule, it makes strange cinematic sense that his Twilight co-lead Kristen Stewart also fronted an amusing new romance that’s cloaked in science fiction. The latter film, Love Me, is one of those projects where, if you weren’t paying strict attention to film festival premieres, you might not realize it even exists. Which is maddening, since this is such a wildly unique, hilarious and heartbreaking movie.

The directorial debut for Sam and Andy Zuchero, Love Me earned mild fanfare upon its festival debut, followed by an undersold January theatrical release. Five months later, it quietly hit the streaming cycle, and is currently available to watch with a Paramount+ subscription, which is precisely what sparked my own interest. Now, to help combat the lack of buzz that preceded its release, I gotta blab about what makes this movie so undeniably special.

Love Me Is Literally Unlike Any Other Movie Romance

Given how similiar a wide swath of romance-driven movies are, I'm always intrigued by stories that buck such trends. Love Me goes above and beyond in that sense by setting its story hundreds of years in the future, after an extinction event has eradicated humanity, and by focusing on a waterbound weather buoy who makes a surprisingly meaningful connection.

In its quest to reverse its lonely existence, the buoy makes contact with an orbiting satellite, and taps into the history of the Internet and YouTube in the effort to become more human-esque and make a legitimate emotional connection. Granted, it's an effort that's somewhat hindered by machine-logic and a lack of human nuance, perhaps evidenced best by the buoy naming itself Me, while giving the satellite the moniker Iam.

Their story is initially one of highly amusing fumbles and foibles as both become accustomed to communicating non-essential information and learning to exhibit emotional responses. It's like a low-key mash-up of WALL-E and Her which then becomes a far more thoughtful and complicated look at how elements such as monotony, secrets, and social media can each have drastically negative effects on relationships.

Stewart And Yeun Nail The Comedy, The Drama And The Existential Dread

While scouring YouTube's seemingly endless number of uploads, Me stumbles upon the page for Deja (Kirsten Stewart in human form) and Liam (human Steven Yeun), a couple who documented the bulk of their lives on social media. Me uses the many hours of footage to inform her own approach to wooing Iam in a digital reality akin to life-simulation games like The Sims.

Stewart and Yeun are excellent in all facets of their roles, both as the authentic and long-gone Deja and Liam, and also as the mo-capped iterations of the characters. (There's a visual upgrade that happens late in the film that the actors also sell perfectly.) From misunderstanding the English language to misunderstanding what genuine laughter is supposed to sound like, Me and Iam are downright adorable right up until they point when things go sideways. (Fun fact: Kristen Stewart talked to us about hating fake laughter in movies, and why she dreads it as an actress.)

To be sure, the movie does back away from its more straightforwardly comedic moments in the third act once Me and Iam hit a point of conflict, but that doesn't stop Love Me from being smart, poignant and affecting right through to the end credits.

The Sci-Fi Visuals Are Just As Impressive As Everything Else

Though the story pulling at viewers' heartstrings is very much about humanity and human connections, it's also a feast for the eyes as the story progresses. Sam and Andy Zuchero successfully depict the loneliness of a ravaged planet early on as Me is learning how to communicate, and it's quite astonishing just how much time passes by from beginning to end, with a lot of that universal evolution happening in time-lapse.

Love Me nails both the macro and the micro in that way, from showing off harrowing disasters in the expanses of outer space to showing off Me and Iam's evolution of CGI domesticity from blobby Nick Jr.-esque figures to finessed Pixar-lite imagery. Obviously a ton of artists worked on the movie, but it shows off the filmmakers' imagination that so many different kinds of visual approaches were utilized to make the world surrounding the romance feel authentic.

So Why Isn't Love Me More Beloved And Talked About By Now?

To be sure, I can 100% understand why a movie featuring two highly advanced tech devices' meet cute isn't going to set the world on fire in the way a James Bond or Avengers movie might. I wouldn't ever really expect Love Me to become a $200 million-earner at the box office, or to inspire a slew of dedicated videos on YouTube and social. It's just not that kind of of a spectacle.

However, I'd absolutely expect for this kind of mindful and visually stunning movie to at least be heavily embraced by critics and genre crowds, yet that outcome doesn't seem to have happened either. Here's where the movie currently sits with Rottten Tomatoes' ranks:

• 47% Rotten (based on 88 reviews)
• 62% Audience Popcornmeter (based on 55 ratings)

Even with the understanding that RT is far from a perfect metric in any sense, I'm still bamboozled by the idea that so many critics would offer up lukewarm-to-negative opinions about a movie that I had so few issues with. And that the average score from viewers themselves, while based on limited input, isn't that much higher. It makes me wonder if we all watched the same movie.

If there's a silver lining to find here, it's perhaps that the total lack of chatter about Love Me allowed me to go into viewing it without any preconceived notions about its quality or lack there of. Had I known a lot more about it, I might not have been easily swayed into watching, and I would have missed one of the more thought-provoking movie-viewing experiences of this year or any other. I'm fine if it never enters the annals of best rom-coms of all time, but it should be in the running for best sci-fi rom-coms of all time.

With Dakota Johnson's romantic comedy Materialists currently garnering widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, I can only hope that viewers are drawn to seek out other recent films of that ilk, and that Love Me will spark a new wave of appreciation, hopefully long before humanity actually gets wiped out.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of horror movies. Even some of the best horror movies of all time are hard for me to get into and appreciate. This is a “me” problem, not an indictment of the genre. However, I recently watched Jordan Peele’s Nope with my Peacock subscription, and I have to admit, it really grabbed me and didn’t let me go. Now I need to consider just why I tend to avoid horror movies.

It Wasn’t My Jordan Peele Movie

Now, I have seen plenty of horror movies in my life. As someone who writes about movies for a living, I’ve always considered it important to my job, even if watching them sometimes feels like a chore. Jordan Peele’s movies and TV shows have never felt that way, though. I loved Get Out, though it doesn’t feel quite like a horror movie to me; it’s more of a mystery than anything else. Us is definitely more of a true horror movie, but still one that had my rapt attention for the whole thing.

The common element of all three, including Nope, is that even when I’m at home watching them on my TV, rather than in theaters, I never get bored or reach for my phone (something I can’t claim for every movie I watch). Even if I do reach for that little black distraction device, I quickly realize that I don’t want to look at it; I have to make sure I know what’s coming next. Peele’s movies reward close watching, and it’s never a chore to get through, just a delight.

Nope Had All The Elements I Love In Any Movie

Oftentimes, especially when it comes to slasher films or ultra-violent and gory horror movies, I get frustrated that they often lack in other key elements that make movies great. Things like character development and interesting plotlines get sidelined in favor of more jump scares or violent fight scenes. The violence doesn’t make me queesy, it just bores me.

Nope sacrifices nothing. There is a well-told back story for the two main characters, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer), and their friend/rival Jupe Park (Steven Yeun). There is a great story that is enhanced by the fear, not distracted by it. There is some great comic relief, mostly from Palmer, and there is, most importantly, an interesting twist that doesn’t feel forced. And yes, it still manages to be plenty scary.

I Loved The Way The “Twist” Worked

The twist of the movie is that the UFO isn’t a ship, but a living being, an animal. That twist isn’t played for shock value, but it makes the story so much more interesting than just a standard green beings from outer space doing unthinkable things to humans on earth. It’s like Predator, but without the absurd backstory.

I love that it isn’t forced, as happens in so many movies in the genre. It’s not some kind of big reveal, it’s a much more organic discovery that a wildlife expert like OJ would come to naturally. Peele doesn’t dwell on the twist long either. Instead, we’re thrown right into the plan to take it out.

All of that makes for a much better movie than I am used to in the horror genre, and I think it’s time for me to seek out more movies like it rather than only happen upon them while I’m working on my next story. I’m also really excited to see what Jordan Peele’s next project looks like and can’t wait to see it.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly releasing new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. One of the most hotly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies is definitely Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will bring Tom Holland's title character back to the shared universe. There's some fan casting swirling around online, and as a Walking Dead fan I hope one actually comes true.

What we know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is limited, but the recently revealed title is an exciting step forward. Fans are wondering who might be joining Tom Holland in the project, including chatter about Sadie Sink having a role. Some fans on Reddit notice the director was following Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun on Instagram, and think he'd be a great choice to bring Mister Negative to life on the big screen. And I am personally completely sold on this casting.

Yeun was a fan favorite on The Walking Dead before Glen's infamous death, and has taken a variety of exciting projects in the years that have followed. That includes his Emmy-winning performance in Beef, as well as movies like Jordan Peele's Nope. And after voicing the title character in Invincible (streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription), it seems like the perfect time to give him a live-action superhero role.

Mister Negative is a Spider-Man villain who has had less time on the page, debuting back in 2007. His Darkforce abilities give him a variety of powers, and is a primary foe of the wall crawler. He's perhaps best known for being the primary villain of Sony's Spider-Man video game, as well as his appearance in the sequel. Ever since these games became so wildly successful, fans have been wondering when the character might make the leap to live-action.

Of course, Destin Daniel Cretton is following on social media isn't any real indication as to what villains he's planning on including in the fourth Spider-Man movie. But fans spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, and are emotionally invested in the fan favorite character. So the theories, rumors, and fan castings will likely continue until some official announcements occur.

Yeun is clearly a wildly talented actor, but as someone who was a Walking Dead superfan during the flagship series' run on AMC, I'm ready to see him kicking ass on the screen again. He did a ton of actions dispatching zombies as Glenn, and watching him go toe to toe with Tom Holland's Peter Parker sounds thrilling.

Moviegoers are curious about what comes next for Holland's hero after Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, which saw him erased from the memories of anyone who knew him. Brand New Day is currently expected to arrive in theaters on July 31st, 2026, so I'm not expecting any footage coming with the 2025 movie releases.

Are you ready to get your face and heart pummeled in again and again? Because Invincible Season 4 is confirmed and coming back to fans with Amazon Prime subscriptions

The third season kicked and punched its way into our hearts during the early months of the 2025 TV schedule, but despite all the pain and sobbing that transpired over the last few weeks, we know that Season 4 is happening, and that we won't have to wait too long for it. And I'm sure it's only going to break our hearts again and again, especially after that gory Season 3 finale.

But when can we expect Season 4 of Invincible? And what will the storyline be like? Here are all the details we know so far.

What Is The Invincible Season 4 Release Date?

At the time of writing this, in March 2025, there is no set release date for Invincible Season 4. However, it's not all bad news.

In an interview with Variety in March 2025, creator Robert Kirkman opened up about the release timeframe of the next season. He said that the timeline between seasons will 'vaguely' be the same:

However, he did say that the goal is for the show to come out at some point next year:

Without any obstacles popping up, we could see the next season of Invincible as soon as next year, which is a blessing. Between Seasons 1 and 2, fans had to wait quite a bit for the story to continue after Omni-Man's big reveal, which Kirkman has opened up about. Thankfully, Season 3 came only a year after Season 2, and the yearly releases now seem more possible than before.

The Invincible Season 4 Cast

One of the aspects that makes Invincible a perfect superhero show is that it has a star-studded cast, and there are plenty of names that we will most likely hear again. Here is who you can expect to return:

• Steven Yeun as Mark
• Sandra Oh as Debbie Grayson
• J.K. Simmons as Omni-Man
• Gillian Jacobs as Samantha Wilkins/Atom Eve
• Zazie Beetz as Amber Bennett
• Walton Goggins as Cecil Stedman
• Chris Diamantopoulos as Donald Ferguson
• Zachary Quinto as Robot and Ross Marquand as Rudy/Rex
• Ross Marquand as The Immortal
• Malese Jow as Kate Cha/Dupli-Kate
• Grey Griffin as Shrinking Rae and Monster Girl
• Khary Payton as Black Samson
• Jay Pharoah as Bulletproof
• Mark Hamill as Arthur Rosenbaum
• Sterling K. Brown as Angstrom Levy
• Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien

The cast list for this show kind of goes on and on, with Robert Kirkman bringing in more and more stars to fill out the roles from his comic book series and beyond, so expect to hear a lot more.

Someone we most likely won't hear again is Jason Mantazoukas as Rex. Even though Rex had a bigger story in Season 3, he ended up getting killed in a massive fight against several multiversal versions of Mark. So we won't be seeing him again – at least not as a main character anymore.

But another person we'll probably hear more of is Conquest, voiced by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. His character from the finale of Season 3 is not dead (as we see with Cecil), so expect that particular Walking Dead reunion to continue.

What Is The Invincible Season 4 Story?

Since Invincible Season 4 is confirmed, what are we going to dive into in the next part of Mark's adventure? Here is what we know so far:

Mark Is Learning That Killing People Might Be The Only Option Sometimes

As we saw from the gory finale, we know that Mark is finally starting to grow up and realize the error of his ways – which means he's leaning more towards making sure the people who threaten his family are dead. Robert Kirkman talked about Mark's change and growth with Variety:

He also brought up the fact that Mark does believe that Conquest is dead now and that because of that, he's starting to mentally shift into this mindset of keeping his family safe from threats:

Now, he's starting to realize that he needs to make some tough decisions if he wants to keep the people he cares about safe. So, I suppose that means we're probably going to get a lot more gory episodes soon.

Thragg Will Most Likely Show Up Soon

For those who have read the Invincible comics, you might know who Thragg is. He's essentially bred to be the strongest Viltrumite ever and has lived for thousands of years. And now, we know that Thragg has been cast. Kirkman revealed the details in the interview with Variety:

The Viltrumites have slowly become a much more significant threat as time has gone on with this show, and now, with Mark beating the absolute snot out of Conquest, I can only imagine that this won't be the last time we see the Viltrumites. And now, if Thragg is a part of this, it's going to be one heck of a bloody time.

Mark And Crew Might End Up Going To Hell

While Invincible is based on comics, there are some stories that Kirkman never got to do when he wrote them. Now, in that interview with Variety, he revealed that Mark and crew might end up going to Hell – you know, the actual underworld, because it was something he always wanted to do, and was teased in the Season 3 finale with Damien Darkblood getting sent down there:

Kirkman says that he always wanted to do a plotline in Hell, but he was never able to because of the direction the story was going and that he kept getting "sidetracked:"

I mean, at this rate, Mark might as well face God himself if they're going straight down to Hell, but I am here for it.

Season 4 Is Getting "Wrapped Up"

While I know we're going to be waiting until at least 2026 for Season 4, there is a good chance we could get it early in the year from what Kirkman told The Direct in March 2025. Kirkman said that the focus right now is on getting the main show (and not spinoffs or specials) out as quickly as possible, stating that right now, they are "wrapping up Season 4:"

Okay, now, I'm excited.

What are you looking forward to with Season 4 of Invincible? Are you ready for Mark and Eve to be the ultimate power couple? I need to see more now.

Spoilers for the opening Invincible Season 3 episodes are below! If you’re not caught up with the series, you can check out the first three episodes with an Amazon subscription.

Invincible Season 3 has finally premiered as part of the 2025 TV schedule, and its first three episodes packed a punch – literally. One of the biggest moments was watching Mark and Eve finally become a couple after two seasons of waiting. But while romance is sweet, both the voice actors behind the characters, Steven Yeun and Gillian Jacobs, have their thoughts on the superhero couple.

As someone who loves a good romance, I knew I needed to ask the actors prior to the premiere of Invincible Season 3 if they thought this anticipated couple would last. Steven Yeun (Mark) was open that he hasn’t read the “end of the comics” just yet, so he’s just as in the dark as we are — aside from liking their “chemistry”:

As for Jacobs, the former Community cast member commented that they really are complimentary to each other, as they both understand what is at stake with the world, but that life gets in the way and that the future is always ‘unknown’ with their dangerous jobs:

Jacobs continued, saying that another aspect is that they’re “really young,” and that while this relationship is fun, there’s still a lot to learn:

I mean, Invincible really is the perfect superhero show because it doesn’t necessarily follow everything the Robert Kirkman-created comics do. There are surprises, twists and things that we never quite know are going to happen. Mark and Eve’s relationship could end up playing out exactly how it does in the comics – or it could go in an opposite direction.

But for now, I’m with both of them – I love the relationship so far (from the episodes I have seen), and I really hope it keeps expanding and growing as someone who loves a good superhero romance.

Invincible Season 3 is already shaking up to be a fun one, with Omni-Man’s shift in direction, the tease of old enemies and much more We’re all just here for the ride for this fantastic Amazon Prime show. Let the superhero couples reign, please don’t let anything bad happen to them!

Kristen Stewart turns 35 years old in April, and can look back on a lifetime entertaining audiences in front of a camera. Naturally, Stewart forever will be linked to the Twilight Saga, which made her a global household name. But she used that fame to build a legitimate career, working with auteurs, playing in blockbuster fare, and perfecting her craft over the decades. In her latest film Love Me, Stewart lends her voice to a buoy – yes, a floating buoy – who tries to forge a connection with a satellite (voiced by Steven Yeun) in a sci-fi dramedy that asks a lot of intriguing questions about the human condition. And that helped Stewart reflect a lot on her acting career.

We have seen Kristen Stewart do so much over the course of her varied career, from holding down action thrillers like Charlie’s Angels or American Ultra, to even disappearing into the role of Princess Diana in the complicated film Spencer. Looking back on her career in an exclusive interview with CinemaBlend, though, Stewart opened up about one thing she always hated trying to do on screen, and that’s laugh. Laughing can be a real challenge for actors, who have to do it on cue – usually over and over again – and make it seem authentic. And as Stewart told us:

That’s probably the best thing that can happen for an actor. You are asked to play a big laugh scene. And the laughter amongst you and your co-stars becomes contagious. You legitimately end up laughing, and you keep it going. You can see it happening in this blooper reel for Kristen Stewart’s charming holiday comedy Happiest Season:

Love Me has some unique ways it explores the human condition, which brings up the concept of generating artificial laughter. In an effort to establish some form of connection, Kristen Stewart’s buoy character watches online videos starring a social media influencer (also played by Stewart), and tries to mimic her to appear more human. This means being “happy” and “funny,” even when things are not. Which got me thinking about the challenges of acting.

You can find Love Me when it opens in theaters starting on January 31. And after you have seen it, make sure you use our guide to all of the upcoming 2025 movies so that you can prepare for your next night out at the cinema.

Warning! Spoilers ahead! 

AMC's massive hit The Walking Dead established earlier on that anything could happen at any time, including the worst. Still, a number of characters made it quite a long time. While none of the cast members on the show appeared in all 177 episodes of the show, here are the actors who appeared in the most episodes of The Walking Dead. 

Norman Reedus (175 Episodes)

Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus, was a fan favorite almost from the very beginning, and by the end of the show, he was hands down the most popular character. Reedus was amazing as the gruff, tough-as-nails survivor and he appeared in more episodes than any other actor, 175 in total. He also returned in the follow-up show The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

Melissa McBride (174 Episodes)

The character on The Walking Dead that had the most incredible character arc has to be Carol played by Melissa McBride. Carol was a fairly meek housewife to an abusive husband. She didn't stay the way and by the end of the show's run, and McBride's 175 episodes, she was someone you definitely wanted to have on your side against the zombies. 

Lauren Cohan (144 Episodes)

It's hard to believe that viewers didn't meet Maggie Greene Rhee until the second season when the survivors reached the farm. Still, actress Lauren Cohan appeared in the third-most episodes by the end, 144 in total. Though she had one of the most tragic story arcs, she comes out on top at the very end, proving how tough she really was.  

Christian Serratos (130 Episodes)

Fans of The Walking Dead aren't introduced to Rosalita, played by Christian Serratos, until Season 4 and Serratos didn't become a main cast member until the following season. From then on though, she becomes a key survivor right up until the very end when she becomes the final victim of the zombies on the show, after 130 episodes.

Josh McDermitt (130 Episodes)

Josh McDermitt's character, Eugene, is one of the most interesting characters on the show. At first, he's weak, selfish, and spineless, but he eventually grows into one of the most capable survivors on the show, using his smarts to help out in many ways. 

Danai Gurira (126 Episodes)

From the first time viewers see Michonne, played by Danai Gurira, until the end of the show, she was among the most beloved and awesome characters. Though she wasn't introduced until the end of Season 2, Gurira appeared in 126 episodes over the final 10 seasons. And she wasn't someone you ever wanted to mess with.

Seth Gilliam (125 Episodes)

Former cast member of The Wire Seth Gilliam plays one of the more controversial characters, the priest Gabriel Stokes. Though he didn't join the show until Season 5, he played a huge role, both good and bad, with the survivors over the final seven seasons. 

Andrew Lincoln (121 Episodes)

If there is a main character of The Walking Dead, at least in the first nine seasons, it's Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln. He's the de facto leader at almost every point in the show, and the father of two kids. At the end of Season 9 Grimes disappears and at the end of Season 11 it's revealed he's still alive, but only a little is revealed about where he ends up until the follow-up show, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Ross Marquand (116 Episodes)

Audiences first meet Ross Marquand's character Aaron when he recruits the survivors to join the community he's a part of in Alexandria. From Season 5, when he is introduced, until the end of the show, Aaron is a key character who appeared in a total of 116 episodes. 

Chandler Riggs (109 Episodes)

Carl Grimes was, other than his infant sister, the youngest member of the group of main survivors. Rick's son, played by Chandler Riggs, was a key character in both the TV and in the comic books, though his run on the show ended before the character's arc is over in the comic books. Riggs left the show in dramatic fashion after 109 episodes to attend college. 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (95 Episodes)

The Walking Dead became known for introducing a big baddie in every season, but no one was ready for Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. As the leader of The Saviors, Negan is absolutely brutal, and within minutes of meeting him, he commits the two most horrific murders in the show's entire history. His character arc is fascinating, however, and it meant he lasted 95 episodes, right up until the end. 

Alanna Masterson (87 Episodes)

Tara Chambler, played by actress Alanna Masterson, starts out as a follower of the antagonist known as The Governor but soon realizes he's a bad person. During the attack on the prison by the survivors, Tara switches sides and ends up an important member of the survivors before she is attacked and killed in Season 9, after appearing in 87 episodes. 

Khary Payton (83 Episodes)

Khary Payton introduction as King Ezekiel in the seventh season was a big moment. Not only did was it a dramatic shot, with him sitting with his tiger, but it brought in a character that would become a key player over the next 83 episodes. 

Steven Yeun (81 Episodes)

The Walking Dead was famous for the brutal deaths of some of its most beloved characters and at the top of that list is Glenn's horrifying death at the hands of Nega in the Season 7 premiere. It was hard to stomach, and even harder to take, emotionally. Actor Steven Yeun's character was a fan favorite and after 81 episodes, suddenly he was gone. 

Cooper Andrews (81 Episodes)

Actor Cooper Andrews' character Jerry is the kind of character everyone loves. He's a bit of a goof, but dedicated and loyal to his people, and very capable. Though the character wasn't introduced until Season 8 and wasn't a main cast member until 10, Andrews still appeared in 81 episodes. 

Sonequa Martin-Green (70 Episodes)

Sasha, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, who appeared in 70 episodes was a character created for the show, rather than in the comic book from which The Walking Dead was adapted. Still, Sasha becomes an incredibly important character from Season 3 when we meet her until her heroic death at the end of Season 8.

Eleanor Matsuura (58 Episodes)

Eleanor Matsuura, who plays Yumiko, is a late joiner to the cast, not appearing until the 9th Season. Still, she proves her worth quickly and appears in almost every episode from there out, a total of 58. 

Nadia Hilker (56 Episodes)

One of the new characters introduced in Season 9 is Magna, played by actress Nadia Hilker. She's a tough customer who seemingly trusts very few people, and who can blame her after surviving the zombie apocalypse for as long as she has. She also survives the final battle in Alexandria at the of Season 11 and is seen living happily with her girlfriend, Yumiko, after 56 episodes on the show. 

Lauren Ridloff (56 Episodes)

Along with Magna and Yumiko, Lauren Ridloff's character Connie is a tough survivor who joined the show in Season 9. Like those characters Connie appears in most of the final three seasons, a total of 56 episodes. 

Callan McAuliffe (55 Episodes)

 Alden, played by Callan McAuliffe, was a member of the brutal Saviors when viewers met him, but he eventually switches sides and teams up with the Hilltop Community led by Maggie. In all, he ended up in most of the final shows in the final 4 seasons, a total of 55 episodes. 

Cassady McClincy Zhang (54 Episodes)

Lydia is a character who is quite different in the show than she is in the comics, mostly due to the changed story arc of her love interest in the books, Carl Grimes. In the show, she is introduced in Season 9 when she is taken captive by Michonne and Daryl. She ends the series alive, 54 episodes later. She was played by Cassady McClincy Zhang.

Cailey Fleming (53 Episodes)

The youngest member of the main cast was Cailey Fleming, who played the older Judith Grimes in seasons 10 and 11, a total of 53 episodes. Of course, the character appears in way more episodes going back to the very beginnings of the show, but for years, she was a baby, presumably played by different people and definitely not played by Fleming.

Lennie James (52 Episodes)

Morgan, played by Lennie James, is one of the earliest characters viewers meet in the show, though he remains an enigma and only occasionally appeared in the early days. James became a main character in Season 6, and in total appeared in 52 episodes over the first 8 seasons of the show before he leaves the group. The character became the protagonist in the first spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead. 

Emily Kinney (50 Episodes)

Emily Kinney played Beth Greene in 50 episodes of The Walking Dead. She was Herschel's daughter and Maggie's half-sister. She was introduced on the show when Rick and the rest of the survivors got to the Greene farm. Initially, Kinney had a much smaller role than those of her family members, but by Season 4 she had become a full-time cast member. It wasn't for long though, as Beth was killed by Dawn in one heck of a disastrous moment that also saw Daryl kill Dawn. 

Katelyn Nacon (50 Episodes)

The second-to-last episode of Season 10 of The Walking Dead is a brutal one. The mysterious character called Alpha proves to be a brutal baddie when it's revealed that her people, The Whispers, have killed a number of people, including Enid, played by Katelyn Nacon. Nacon portrayed Enid in 50 episodes, starting in Season 5. 

Tom Payne (45 Episodes)

The Hilltop Community becomes one of the most important settlements in the post-apocalyptic world and viewers of the show, and the core survivors, are introduced to it by Paul "Jesus" Rovia, who was played by Tom Payne for 45 episodes, starting in Season 7. Jesus is both a spy and an ambassador of sorts for the Hilltop folks, who ends up recruiting and fighting with Rick and the others against The Saviors. Sadly, he doesn't make it past Season 9 when he is killed by The Whisperers. 

Michael Cudlitz (38 Episodes)

What can we say about Abraham Ford? Played by the great Michael Cudlitz who first found major fame on TV as a member of the cast of Band of Brothers, Abraham was a fan favorite from the first time viewers met him in Season 4. That made his death in the Season 7 premiere, after starring in 38 Episodes, at the hands of Negan incredibly heartbreaking. 

Scott Wilson (38 Episodes)

Everyone loves their grandfather and in a way, that's who Scott Wilson's character Herschel Greene represented on the show. The patriarch of Maggie and Beth's family, Herschel is tough, he's fair, and he's righteous. Introduced on the farm in Season 2, Herschel is killed by The Governor in Season 4, after appearing in 38 episodes. 

Austin Amelio (36 Episodes)

Dwight, played by Austin Amelio, always seemed like a reluctant, if brutal, member of Negan's group, The Saviors. With his badly scarred face, he was a standout character for 36 episodes before Amelio left The Walking Dead to join the spinoff Fear The Walking Dead. 

Kerry Cahill (36 Episodes)

For a character that appeared in 36 Episodes of the show, Dianne, played by Kerry Cahill, is the least developed on this list. Cahill is first seen in The Kingdom, playing one of the community's best soldiers, a skill she later takes to the Hilltop Community. For the rest of the series, she is part of many battles, but we never learn too much about her. 

Sarah Wayne Callies (35 Episodes)

Sarah Wayne Callies plays Lori Grimes, Rick's wife, and mother to Carl and Judith. In the first three seasons, she's one of the most important characters on the show and gets herself stuck in a love triangle between Rick, whom she believed was dead, and Rick's best friend, Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal). During Season 3, Lori is forced to give birth to Judith via C-section, and without proper medical facilities, the procedure kills her in one of the hardest moments of the show to watch. In total, Callies appeared in 35 episodes.

Laurie Holden (35 Episodes)

Actor Laurie Holden is one of the original cast members of the show, playing Andrea from the earliest episodes. At the end of Season 2, she gets separated from the rest of the survivors at the farm and is saved by Michonne. Both end up at Woodbury with The Governor, who Andrea grows close to. Trusting him was a mistake as she is eventually taken prisoner by him which leads to her death at the hands of a walker towards the end of Season 3 after 35 appearances. 

Simply by taking place during the post-apocalypse, The Walking Dead franchise is one of TV’s deadliest, and remains that way thanks to spinoffs starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, among others. The co-stars’ characters Negan and Maggie first shared the screen in the Season 6 finale and then in the infamous Season 7 premiere, in which the leather-clad villain brutally killed off two fan-favorite characters. It’s been roughly eight years since that viewership-killing episode aired, so how does TWD vet Andrew LIncoln feel about it now?

As it happens, Lincoln is able to look back at Negan’s introduction in hindsight and say that it may have been the straw that broke the zombie camel’s back, so to speak. In an interview with Empire, he said:

That’s a major “maybe” in the scheme of things, since The Walking Dead’s creative team definitely wanted to hammer home just how emotionally devastating Negan’s arrival was the way Robert Kirkman penned it for the comic book. To the point where Charlie Adlard’s gnarly visuals were partially represented in the form of Steven Yeun’s bulging eye-socket prosthetic, which the show made sure to focus on applicably.

Of course, before he even got around to smooshing in Glenn’s head in front of his pregnant wife, JDM’s Negan had already viciously murdered Abraham in a similar manner, with the red-headed behemoth’s body still twitching in the moments afterward. The times were not so optimistic.

To that end, The Walking Dead’s Season 7 premiere was among the two or three most-watched episodes of the show’s 11-season run, with more than 17 million people tuning in early on. The series enjoyed those double-digit viewership totals for several seasons prior to Negan’s arrival, and it’s unlikely any other AMC series will ever reach that same level of popularity. But once Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s joyously callous villain became a mainstay, the audience decline was quite obvious., and many were quite up front about why Glenn's death was so upsetting.

Not that Andrew Lincoln felt any sort of foreboding viewership threats when filming the controversial sequence, and only has good things to say about that experience, and about Morgan in general. As he put it:

It was definitely an emotional shoot, as it was by and large the last time the cast would spend that much time around stars Steven Yeun and Michael Cudlitz, though the latter later returned for Abraham's dream sequences with Sonequa Martin-Green's Sasha. But as much as fans have wanted to see Yeun back as Glenn in any upcoming Walking Dead series, even if just in the anthology spinoff, he's expressed hesitance about returning to the role.

While waiting to see more from Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2, head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see what else is coming soon.

As the cast for Marvel’s Thunderbolts* was being assembled at the top of the year ahead of the production getting started in February, a few shakeups occurred behind the scenes. Among them, Steven Yeun dropped out of the movie after it was accidentally revealed he was set to play Sentry before Top Gun: Maverick’s Lewis Pullman was said to have been cast to take his place. Pullman has just addressed those rumors, and while vague, I have some thoughts about what he said.

Lewis Pullman Dodged Marvel Rumors… Hard

When Lewis Pullman guested on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused show, its host Josh Horowitz asked the Lessons In Chemistry actor about his rumored debut in one of the upcoming Marvel movies, Thunderbolts*. Here’s what he had to say:

So, that’s how he’s playing it. Pullman commented on being in the MCU, before saying “if” he was to get the call, like it has never actually happened. And to be clear, the report of his casting came from a rather reputable source in The Hollywood Reporter. Horowitz went on to stoke the flames further by showing Pullman an illustration of Sentry. Pullman bust up laughing before saying this:

After that, as the host continued to talk about his rumored upcoming role, Lewis Pullman only batted away the character further. In his words:

I must also note that oftentimes when he said these comments he would tap his nose ever so gently, which is a rather common tell for a lie. I get it, he’s got the Marvel overlord on his back! I mean, of course he does.

My Excited Takeaways From Lewis Pullman’s Comments 

While Lewis Pullman was trying to give nothing in that interview, I think he gave something! For one, I think if he hadn’t been cast, he’d probably say straight up, “Hey, I’m not in it, actually.” But his comments smell more like someone who signed an NDA not to say anything about his Marvel role and keep his mouth shut for now.

My other takeaway lies in that first comment he gives about Marvel. Pullman talks about wanting to play a character with longevity that would matter to the MCU. And Sentry definitely has the makings of this. Marvel Comics’ Robert Reynolds has often been compared to Superman when it comes to his powers and abilities. However, his origin story is arguably more interesting.

In the comics, Reynolds starts off as a meth addict who breaks into a laboratory and ingests Golden Sentry Serum, which gives him the power of a million exploding suns, thus turning him into a hero. That could certainly be a character the MCU might want to keep around as it sets up more Avengers movies, that’s for sure.

You can check out what else we know about Marvel’s Thunderbolts* here on CinemaBlend. The movie is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2025.

We’re almost done with January, and this first month of 2024 has already seen some major shakeups for the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts. First, Invincible’s Steven Yeun dropped out, with the actor later sharing that this was primarily because of scheduling changes. Now it turns out that another actor has dropped out of the Thunderbolts cast for that same reason, with The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri no longer set to appear in this MCU installment.

Fortunately, we already know who will be filling her shoes, as Deadline reports that Geraldine Viswanathan is taking over Edebiri’s Thunderbolts role. Like Edirbi, Viswanathan’s profile has grown quite bit over the last several years, with her big credits including Blockers, The Broken Hearts Gallery, The Beanie Bubble and Miracle Workers. Along with Thunderbolts now on her list of upcoming projects, she’ll next be seeing in Drive-Away Dolls, one of the February offerings on the 2024 movies schedule.

So although this is the second casting shakeup to hit Thunderbolts in a matter of weeks, between Viswanathan stepping in following Edebiri’s exit, and Lewis Pullman reportedly set to take over Steven Yeun’s role, the movie is still in good shape to begin production soon. That said, while Pullman is expected to be playing Sentry in Yeun’s place, per a spoiler-y comment from Robert Kirkman last November, there’s been no word about the identity of the character Viswanathan is now playing.

The main team, however, is still an open book, with the lineup consisting of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova /Black Widow, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. Additionally, Harrison Ford will reprise Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross following his first outing as the character in Captain America: Brave New World, and it was also recently reported that Rachel Weisz and Laurence Fishburne are on deck to reprise their respective roles of Melina Vostokoff and Bill Foster.

Similar to DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, Marvel’s Thunderbolts team is chiefly comprised of anti-heroes and former villains going on missions for the U.S. government. Although the specific reason they’ll form in the MCU remains officially shrouded in mystery, between Sentry’s excepted involvement and rumblings that Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross will become Red Hulk, those are big enough threats that already warrant these characters banding together. Behind the scenes, Jake Schreier is directing the feature.

Thunderbolts is currently slated for July 25, 2025. While we keep our eyes and ears out for more updates, remember that the past exploits of this movie’s established characters can be revisited with a Disney+ subscription as you go through the Marvel movies in order and the MCU’s TV shows.

Although Thunderbolts is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing upcoming Marvel movies, it went through quite a casting shakeup at the beginning of the month. Steven Yeun dropped out due to scheduling issues, and it hasn’t been officially announced yet who will take his place on the Thunderbolts cast. Unofficially, though word’s come in that the Beef star’s replacement has reportedly been found, and if the casting goes through, it should please fans of Top Gun: Maverick.

Originally reported by Daniel Richtman, THR has confirmed that Lewis Pullman is Marvel Studios’ top choice to fill the role left behind by Steven Yeun in Thunderbolts. Pullman’s biggest role to date has arguably been playing Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd in Top Gun: Maverick, but his other notable credits include movies like Battle of the Sexes, Bad Times at the El Royale and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, as well as the TV shows Catch-22, Outer Range and Lessons in Chemistry. He’s also set to lead the Salem’s Lot remake as Bean Mears, although that Stephen King film adaptation currently doesn’t have a release date.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean that Lewis Pullman is definitely boarding Thunderbolts, only that an offer has been passed along to him, as mentioned in the article. Assuming that Pullman and Marvel work out a deal, though, then it’s expected that the former will have a prominent role in the Marvel movie. That’s because last November, Robert Kirkman, who works with Steven Yeun on Invincible, mentioned that the Mark Grayson voice actor had come back from “a costume fitting for Sentry.”

Boasting a similar power set as Superman, Sentry, a.k.a. Robert Reynolds, is one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful characters. But unlike DC Comics’ Man of Steel, Sentry oftentimes falls into villain territory due to Robert having a darker alternate self called The Void that frequently possesses his mighty body. As such, and assuming this is indeed who Pullman would play instead of Yeun, then Sentry is like to be Thunderbolts’ primary threat, although don’t be surprised if another antagonist is pulling his strings.

Regarding the lineup of protagonists, Thunderbolts will see Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava Starr/Ghost and Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster joining force on a team spearheaded by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Additionally, Harrison Ford will reprise Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross for the second time following his debut as the character in Captain America: Brave New World (where we may see him become Red Hulk), and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri has reportedly been cast in an undisclosed role.

Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts is now set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025. While we wait to officially learn if Lewis Pullman will appear or not, among other updates, remember that you can use your Disney+ subscription to stream the Marvel movies in order and the MCU’s many TV shows.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly growing, thanks to both movies and streaming content available with a Disney+ subscription. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies is Thunderbolts, which will be a crossover event uniting various antagonists and antiheroes from the shared universe. The cast list for Thunderbolts is sick, but one major talent was recently lost: Steven Yeun. And the Walking Dead alum has broken his silence about dropping out of the Marvel blockbuster.

What we know about Thunderbolts is limited, but the hype has been building thanks to various well-known actors who will be occupying the big screen. Fans were bummed when it was revealed that Steven Yeun dropped out of the movie, especially following acclaimed performances in projects like Nope and Beef. Yeun recently spoke to Variety about this decision, saying:

There you have it. While Yeun was excited to get in on the fun of Thunderbolts, it sounds like scheduling changes ultimately altered his plans. But since he still wants to get involved in the shared universe, maybe we'll see him in a different role sometime in the future.

As disappointing as it is that Yeun won't be in the MCU movie anymore, it's definitely understanding that things have changed scheduling-wise. The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes resulted in Thunderbolts being delayed, and the new filming plan seemingly didn't work for what Yeun had planned for the year. Womp womp. 

Joining the MCU is a dream gig for many actors out there, so it's definitely understandable that Steven Yeun is bummed about departing Thunderbolts before filming began. Later in that same interview with Variety, the 40 year-old actor spoke about the way he tried to leave the door open for another Marvel gig, as he put it:

Prior to him departing the project, Steven Yeun's rumored role started circulating around online, indicating he might have been playing Sentry in the MCU blockbuster. It looks like another actor will have to take on the mantle of that character, much to the actor's disappointment. But perhaps that e-mail was well-written and he'll be able to join the shared universe sometime in the future.

Thunderbolts is currently expected to arrive in theaters on July 25th, 2025. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. The next MCU movie hitting theaters is Deadpool 3 on July 26th.

As one goes through the Marvel movies in order, there’s a good mix of stories that have one character that’s unquestionably the main protagonists, and others that are ensemble pieces. One of the upcoming Marvel movies that falls into the latter categories is Thunderbolts, which will see characters like Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian and Taskmaster teaming up. Until today, The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun was also set to star, but now that’s no longer happening, and I’m wondering what this means for his rumored Marvel character.

THR has confirmed that Yeun will not appear in Thunderbolts, though it’s unclear why he exited the project. However, given that like many Hollywood productions, this Marvel movie was delayed due to the writers and actors strikes, this may simply boil down to scheduling issues, although we can’t take creative differences off the table just yet. Along with well known for playing Glenn in The Walking Dead, Yeun already has superhero media experience from voicing Mark Grayson in Invincible (which can be viewed with an Amazon Prime Video subscription), and his other notable credits include Minari, Sorry to Bother You, Nope and Beef.

Actors dropping out of movies as high-profile as Thunderbolts isn’t anything new, but it is important to note that Steven Yeun was reportedly set to play an especially important role in this flick. Back in November, Invincible creator Robert Kirkman let slip that the actor had come back from a “costume fitting for the Sentry.” Marvel Studios still hasn’t confirmed this information.

For those unfamiliar with Sentry, a.k.a. Robert Reynolds, he’s a middle-aged character with Superman-like powers who forgot he used to be a superhero. However, rather than being a traditional protector of the innocent like DC Comics’ Man of Steel, it’s revealed that Sentry’s arch-nemesis, a.k.a. The Void, is actually his darker alternate self. As such, Sentry is depicted as a villain when The Void is in control of the body rather than Robert.

With Steven Yeun now gone, it’s possible Sentry will simply be recast, and nothing else about Thunderbolts will change. However, with Thunderbolts now not coming out until summer 2025, plus the news that Captain America: Brave New World is having “additional scenes and material” written, I can’t help but wonder if Thunderbolts might be going through scripting changes too. Specifically, what if the reason Yeun is no longer in the movie is because Sentry’s role has been reduced or removed entirely?

Granted, that’d be a big leap to take, especially since Wyatt Russell. Who’s still attached to the Thunderbolts cast, said that filming is set to begin in March or April. Still, with Sentry presumably playing a big role in this story, if we don’t learn who’s taking over the role from Yeun within the coming months, then I’ll be even more curious to learn what the future holds in store for the character. Other actors still attached to the Thunderbolts include Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, Harrison Ford and Aye Edebiri.

Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts will arrive in theaters on July 25, 2025. Meanwhile, use your Disney+ subscription to revisit the previous appearances from the starring lineup of characters, and keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for news on who will fill the void (pun fully intended) left behind by Steven Yeun, who will next star opposite Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17.

Former The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming superhero flick The Thunderbolts. The Invincible star (which you can stream with an Amazon Prime Video subscription) might just be our guy suiting up as the Sentry if Robert Kirkman is to be believed. And I am beyond hyped!

In a recent chat between Kirkman and David Finch (via his YouTube), where they delved into all things TWD, Invincible, and even tackled some fan questions, the bombshell dropped when Kirkman spilled the beans about Yeun's character in the upcoming Marvel movie. According to the legendary Image Comics partner, the Minari star gave him a ring after his MCU costume fitting. Here's what he said:

Since the announcement of the Mayhem actor joining the MCU in the already stacked Thunderbolts cast, fans have been speculating that he might be stepping into the shoes of Marvel Comics' Robert Reynolds, aka the Sentry. 

In Marvel Comics' Sentry #1 (2000), we meet Robert Reynolds, a character with a fascinating story. Starting as an average middle-aged guy unaware of his superhero identity, the Sentry, Reynolds eventually uncovers his extraordinary powers. His journey involves encounters with famous Marvel heroes, a gritty origin tied to a meth addiction, and the revelation that his nemesis, the Void, is a darker part of himself. Despite joining the Avengers, Reynolds grapples with managing his different identities, resulting in gripping and intense plotlines. These complexities set the stage for a potentially captivating live-action MCU adaptation of his story.

Often considered Marvel's answer to DC's Superman, the Sentry and the Man of Steel share many powers like strength, flight, and invulnerability. What sets Reynolds apart is his villainous Void persona, adding a unique element to his character. While there are similarities between the two heroes, Reynolds brings enough differences to the table to give movie audiences something unique to get excited about.

Although Marvel Studios hasn't officially confirmed Yeun's role, creator Robert Kirkman's reveal will undoubtedly stir up fan speculation and excitement for the Invincible star's upcoming superhero role. 

The 33rd installment in the Marvel movie chronological order, The Marvels, has hit theaters. However, disappointing box office performances have led to some Disney reshuffling release dates. Deadpool 3, initially set for May 3, 2024, now hits screens on July 26, 2024. This change pushes Captain America 4 to February 14, 2025, taking Blade's slot, with the Mahershala Ali-led reboot releasing on November 7, 2025. Thunderbolts will debut on July 25, 2025, moving from its initial 2024 movie schedule slot of December 20, 2024.

While we wait for him to suit up as The Sentry, fans of Steven Yeun can catch his popular comedy-drama miniseries Beef with a Netflix subscription or Season 2 of Invincible, which is rolling out now on Amazon Prime.

SPOILERS are ahead for Beef, now streaming with a Netflix subscription. 

When it comes to the new TV shows of 2023 we’re still thinking about, Beef is undoubtedly on the list. The original series had Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s layered characters at odds after a road rage incident. Following the Netflix series’ success, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before a second season happens, but the question is how Beef will chose to continue. 

When Beef creator Lee Sung Jin recently spoke to the next steps for the series after what he called a “life affirming” reaction from audiences, he shared where he is in regards to a Season 2 if it happens. In his words: 

As Lee Sung Jin updated The Hollywood Reporter, a second season of Beef isn’t currently in motion due to the ongoing WGA Writers Strike, but in the meantime he’s facing a dilemma about how to go forward with the show. As he shared, he initially pitched the A24 series as an anthology that would follow a new set of characters having beef with one another, but since working with the cast and characters of Season 1, he’s also weighing the option of continuing the original plotline following the Beef Season 1 ending. 

As a fan of the show, I totally see the creator’s dilemma, but I’m definitely more interested in seeing the established cast of Beef continue to evolve following the initial events of Season 1. While I’d totally tune in for an anthology series called Beef, there was something really special about the particular exploration of Yeun’s struggling contractor character Danny alongside Wong’s incredible performance as the well-off small business owner and mother, Amy. 

The series really had some stunning and thought-provoking things to say about each of its main characters as it followed the journey that actually brought them together, and perhaps sparking a romance between them. I could totally see how the show could continue to explore its themes through whatever recklessness comes out of Danny and Amy as a team who have come off of losing a lot and really facing themselves because of their road rage incident.

While discussing the show, Lee Sung Jin also spoke to Beef almost being between Yeun’s character and a white man played by Stanley Tucci, but the idea was scrapped to not make it about race and too “on-the-nose.” That lost idea almost underlines to me more why I’d want the original Beef to continue, because of how the show ended up nailing its complex characters so well. No matter what happens, I absolutely cannot wait to see what Lee Sung Jin does next with Beef. 

Actors Steven Yeun and Tyler James Williams each played co-leads in two of the most critically lauded TV comedies of 2023 so far — Netflix’s Beef and ABC’s Abbott Elementary, respectively — but let’s not forget they’re also former co-stars who shared the screen in one of the most-watched series of the past decade, The Walking Dead. Super-dated spoiler alert, but both of their characters (Glenn and Noah) were given particularly brutal exits, and they’ll apparently still get approached by fans who weren’t particularly pleased about their TWD fates. 

While taking part in THR’s comedy actor roundtable, the aforementioned actors were joined in discussion by Shrinking’s Jason Segel, stand-up comedian John Mulaney (whose special Baby J debuted on Netflix in April), and Mo namesake Mo Amer. When the topic of fan interactions came up, Yeun said that his interactions were largely tied to his Walking Dead tenure until Beef came around, and that fans would try to show solidarity in ways he didn’t always think were genuine. In his words: 

Glenn's death in The Walking Dead, which took place after the much-derided Glenn-gate dumpster fakeout and followed a finale cliffhanger and full between-season hiatus, was particularly violent and harsh, as it was meant to reflect the comic book's introduction of long-running big bad Negan. Only things skewed a bit too dour, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character leaving a rotten taste in many fans' mouths for the way he bludgeoned both Glenn and Abraham. So it's no mystery why viewers still want to show Steven Yeun love for his work on the show while at the same time bemoaning the way he exited it.

Hard to know whether or not he's on the mark when it comes to fans who quit watching, though, since Negan's entrance and Glenn's exit was the easily measurable point when The Walking Dead's ratings bonanza started to slide backwards. So there's no denying that a ton of people definitely did stop watching live episodes in the following months/years after that dreaded premiere. But then the zombie drama is also one of the biggest go-to binge series on Netflix, so I'd wager that a lot of those previously lapsed fans caught up on episodes later in life. I'd also wager that the majority of viewers would love to see Glenn return in some form, presumably through an anthology one-off, though I wouldn't turn my nose up at a dream sequence in the Rick & Michonne spinoff.

In a similarly brutal death, if not quite as earth-shattering, Tyler James Williams' well-liked and seemingly normal Noah found himself being completely ripped apart by a batch of walkers while trapped within an unmoving revolving door. Viewers like myself probably have instant recall of Noah's cheeks being ripped off of his face in the moment, such was its nastiness. Even Steven Yeun brought it up when talking about fan outrage over Glenn's massacre.

Williams, whose first big industry break was as the titular lead in the Chris Rock-created comedy Everybody Hates Chris, said that fans will still take a second to share remorse over Noah's gnarly demise. Here's how he put it:

For a character that wasn't actually around on The Walking Dead for all that often, Noah made an impact thanks entirely to Tyler James Williams being so memorable that it sucked to have him killed off so quickly. To that end, it's encouraging to hear that he's now experiencing fan encounters tied entirely to Abbott Elementary, since he's already played Mr. Eddie for longer than he played Noah, and has helped the show already win a Golden Globe and earn an Emmy nomination during its first two seasons. 

On a similar note, Yeun talked previously about turning down post-Walking Dead roles that he didn't want to be tied to for too long. I'm not the only one who's glad he found a career rhythm that works for him, since everything he's done since has been aces, from Nope to Invincible to Beef and beyond. 

The dark comedy Beef quickly became a hit when it debuted in the 2023 Netflix TV show schedule back in early April, and the Ali Wong- and Steven Yeun-led series still has a spot on the streamer's Top 10 TV Shows at the time of writing. Unfortunately, the success of the show has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding actor David Choe, whose comments about rape from several years ago were recently rediscovered. Now, Wong, Yeun, and Beef creator Lee Sung Jin have broken their silence on the situation. 

Ali Wong and Steven Yeun (who are executive producers as well as part of the cast of Beef) joined with creator Lee Sung Jin for a group statement to Variety that addressed the controversy, saying: 

While the three made it clear that they "do not condone" David Choe's comments from 2014, they also noted his apology and that he has put in work to improve himself and "learn from his mistakes." Choe himself has not addressed what his co-stars and Beef creator said in response to the controversy. 

The controversy stems from David Choe's comments in 2014 on the DVDASA podcast, in which he reportedly spoke about sexually assaulting a massage therapist, and then referred to himself as a "successful rapist" when podcast co-host Asa Akira called out his comments. 

There was backlash at the time, with Variety reporting that he said in 2014 that his comments on the podcast were "not a representation of my reality" and "not the place to come to reliable information about me or my life," and apologizing insofar as saying "I'm sorry if anyone believed that the stories were fact." If he's "guilty of anything," he said, it was "bad storytelling in the style of douche."

The aftermath of Beef releasing for Netflix subscribers in the 2023 TV schedule also isn't the first time that David Choe was called out for his comments years after. He addressed them again in 2017 via a statement on Instagram, in which he said again that what he said in his podcast comments "did not happen" and he has "ZERO history of sexual assault." He went on to say: 

While it seems safe to say that the controversy won't immediately die down just because Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, and Lee Sung Jin made a joint statement, their mention of David Choe putting "in the work to get the mental health support he needed" echoes what Choe said in 2017 about struggling with mental illness. At the time of writing, Choe has not released a statement addressing the podcast clip resurfacing again in 2023.

With Beef currently at #2 on Netflix's list of Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S., it seems that the controversy has not deterred subscribers from checking out the show, which had been deemed a must-watch once reviews were out earlier this month. Fans are certainly still discussing the show for its own merits, including the throwback songs in the soundtrack. All ten episodes are available streaming on Netflix.

Warning: SPOILERS for Netflix's Beef are ahead!

This past week, we’ve been graced with one of the best Netflix shows in recent memory with the first season of Beef, a thoughtful and critically-acclaimed dramedy about how road rage connects two people who live virtually different lives. Right off the bat, Beef is not only calculated in the revenge plots led by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun’s characters after a car incident, but in just about every element of the production. If you’ve been reading into the soundtrack choices and artwork displayed at the top of every episode, or noticed there are a lot of crows in key points of the series, you’re in the right place. 

Beef is definitely a rare series that took the time to not only tell a complex story that explores two characters haunted by anger and emptiness in their lives, but is very intentional in many other aspects of its thematics. They do say the devil is in the details, don’t they? Well, that very much applies to this show. Let’s break some of your questions down. 

Why Is The Soundtrack All Throwback Songs?

When Episode 1 ended with Hoobastank’s “The Reason,” I sat up in my chair and had a feeling I was in for an awesome experience. I don’t know exactly why except for the fact that I absolutely loved the use of the song drop, especially considering the throwback song was clearly speaking to these characters who are both fiercely unhappy, but have each found something to put all their energy in at the moment Danny leaves her home smiling after peeing all over the floor there and Amy runs after him in a fit of rage. 

Upon watching more of the series and hearing more throwback hits like Sugar Ray’s “Fly” and Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” I realized the entire soundtrack is older songs specifically from the ‘90s and ‘00s (with a few exceptions) even though the show itself takes place in present day. Why? Per Netflix, Beef’s showrunner Lee Sung Jin asked that music such as what we hear in the soundtrack be in the show due to the “angsty rage of that era of music,” as music supervisor Tiffany Anders recalled. She also said this: 

Listen closely to the soundtrack throughout the series, and there are all kinds of song choices that really speak to how its characters are feeling throughout Beef. 

What’s Up With The Title Cards? 

Let’s also talk about the artwork that introduces each episode of Beef, including each episode title. Along with the episodes themselves having curious titles like “The Rapture of Being Alive” or “The Drama of Original Choice,” a new piece of artwork is showcased during every title card. If you’ve been wondering where the range of art is from, it’s actually original artwork from David Choe, who also plays the role of Isaac in Beef. As an established and very unique artist in his own right, the creator chose the pieces based on what he thought would fit each episode, per Netflix.

When it comes to the titles of the episodes themselves, each one of them has specific inspirations that Lee Sung Jin chose to reference, often from literature. For example, Episode 3’s title “I Am Inhabited by a Cry” is a quote from the Sylvia Plath poem Elm, per The Tab, and episode 10’s title “Figures of Light” comes from psychiatrist C.G.Jung’s Alchemical Studies, where he suggests that humans need to delve into their darkness in order to move on from things. 

What Do The Crows Symbolize In Beef? 

Then there’s the flock of crows of it all. You may or may not have noticed that throughout the series crows haunt in the backdrop of the series, such as in an early episode when Amy ends a catfish call with Danny’s brother after a bunch of them fly behind her. Episode 5 then references a “Harvard crow study” where Michael tells Bobby they put a guy in a Dick Cheney mask and had him be cruel to a flock of crows because they remember faces birds across the country attacked the real Dick Cheney. 

There was a real-life study like this done by the University of Washington, per The Seattle Times, that learned that crows remember faces. In the last episode of Beef, crows are seen communicating through closed-captioning in a surreal moment in the series, which ultimately serve as a central element to a plot point (we won’t get into every spoiler here). Crows symbolize numerous things in different cultures, but most widely are thought of as signs of bad luck. In my interpretation, Amy and Danny’s initial meeting is an example of bad luck, but their connection is prolonged by each of their obsessions with revenge leading the crows to start recognizing (and even talking) to them both. 

What Inspired Beef? 

If you’re curious about the origins of Beef, it was actually inspired by the creator having his own road rage incident where he followed another driver for “like 30 to 40 minutes.” The experience influenced him to explore road rage in an extreme setting, per Today. In his words: 

In the case of the characters in Beef, he wanted to explore how their anger for one incident disrupts deep-seated feelings they were sweeping under the rug before. 

Will There Be More Beef? 

The final question on the top of many viewers' minds after finishing up the 10-episode season is whether Beef is meant to continue or be a contained story. The good news is that Lee Sung Jin told Rolling Stone he has “three seasons mapped out” in his head currently. Considering the show being No. 1 on the Netflix TV charts since debuting in April, I’d imagine more seasons are very much on the table following the Beef ending.

What a journey Beef was! Shows as thoughtful as this don’t come around everyday, and with all the details that encompasses Season 1, it won’t be long before I want to do a rewatch.  

Netflix has come out with some awesome shows throughout its time as the streaming king. It's had hits that have taken over social media, such as Wednesday, and created swoon-worthy shows like Bridgerton, which is entering its third season, but now, it’s about to take the word “beef” to a whole new level – with Beef. 

The series, starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, tells the story of two drivers who are both going through a 'crisis’ in their lives who end up having the epitome of a road rage incident that is carried far beyond their cars. The show is made by A24, which has produced some of the best films in the last decade, such as the company's horror movies, comedies, and many others, so to see them making a TV series like this is so much fun. 

The Beef cast is similarly impressive, with names on here that I’m sure you’ve heard of more than once. Let’s get into where you’ve seen them before. 

Steven Yeun (Danny Cho)

First up on this list is Steven Yeun, who plays Danny Cho in Beef. Admittedly, I’ve been a fan of Yeun's for years, and when I say years, I mean that with my entire heart. I first discovered him on The Walking Dead, as most people did, and fell in love with his acting style. Ever since then, he’s become even more prominent on film and TV and I am here for the praise he's gotten. 

One of his most known movies so far is Minari, where he had a starring role that garnered him an Academy Award nomination, but he’s done plenty of other awesome films, as well. These include, but aren’t limited to, the Jordan Peele horror movie, Nope, Burning, The Humans, The Star, Sorry To Bother You, and Okja. 

Besides his time on The Walking Dead, Yeun is also a pretty prominent voice actor, and has done a lot of voice work for shows such as Voltron: Legendary Defender and the very popular Amazon Prime series, Invincible, which is receiving a second season soon.

Ali Wong (Amy Lau)

The next star is Ali Wong, who plays Amy Lau. Wong has been around in the entertainment industry for some time. I primarily know her as a comedian, as I’ve watched all of her Netflix specials and have laughed hilariously every time I’ve watched them, but she’s done plenty in movies and TV, as well. 

With films, she’s mainly known for her role in Always Be My Maybe, but she’s had parts in movies such as Onward, Birds of Prey, Father Figures, and Savage. On television, she was one of the main stars of Tuca & Bertie, an animated series, as well as doing voice work for shows such as Big Mouth and Human Resources, both great animated shows on Netflix for adults. 

She also had a main role in American Housewife, and a recurring role in Love, Victor on Hulu, as well as on the series, Paper Girls. 

Joseph Lee (George Nakai)

Moving on with our list, next up is Joseph Lee, who portrays George Nakai in Beef. Lee has done a couple of independent films that you might recognize him from, including Lion and Searching. Some TV shows that he’s had parts in are Star Trek: Picard, as well as the series Miracle That We Meet. Other than that, he’s pretty new to Hollywood, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him soon enough. 

Young Mazino (Paul Cho)

Another newcomer to Hollywood is Young Mazino, who plays Paul Cho in the series. The actor has primarily done guest roles on many popular shows, and these include parts in series’ such as Prodigal Son, Blue Bloods, Tommy, Blindspot, and My Crazy Love. 

He’s also had roles in the independent films Fish Bones and Vita, but his main part in Beef will be his first major role in a television show, so it’ll be awesome to see him do this.  

David Choe (Isaac Cho)

Moving on, we have David Choe, who is playing Isaac Cho. The actor is actually also an artist and a musician, but has only recently gotten into acting over the last few years. He’s had guest roles on television shows such as The Mandalorian on Disney+, which is well into its third season, as well as Better Things. 

He’s also had parts in films such as We Are The Strange, as well as Violent Blue, but it’ll be exciting to see him take on a role that’s a main part in a big show such as this. 

Patti Yasutake (Fumi Nakai)

Next up on this list, we have Patti Yasutake, a veteran in Hollywood who has been acting for more than three decades. She portrays Fumi Nakai in Beef. The actress has done plenty in television. She’s primarily known for playing Nurder Ogawa in the Star Trek franchise, where she was a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as movies that were spun off of the show. 

Besides that, she was also in TV shows such as Murder One, Dangerous Minds, Bones, Just Legal, The Closer, Cold Case, and many more. With films, she was also a part of movies like Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Coverup, The LA Riot Spectacular, The Wash and more. 

Maria Bello (Jordan Forster)

Moving on, we take a look at Maria Bello, who plays Jordan Forster. Bello has been in movies such as Duets, 100 Mile Rule, The Cooler alongside William H. Macy, The Dark, The Sisters, Towelhead, Grown Ups and its sequel, Demonic, The 5th Wave, The Water Man, Wait Till Helen Comes and others. 

She’s also appeared in several television shows, including a recurring role on ER, and shows like Prime Suspect, Goliath, Touch, NCIS and more. 

Ashley Park (Naomi Forster)

Next up, we take a look at Ashley Park, who plays Naomi Forster in Beef. Park got her start on Broadway, and had a huge role in Mean Girls: The Musical, which is getting a movie adaptation, but has since appeared in Mr. Malcolm’s List, and other smaller films. She’s set to appear in Joy Ride. She’s also part of the Emily in Paris cast, as well as being in Girls5eva on Peacock. 

Additional Cast Members

Last but not least, we have to point out a few recurring actors who are also here. Justin H. Min, who is primarily known for his role in The Umbrella Academy, plays Edwin. 

Mia Serafino, who is mainly known for the show Crowded, plays Mia, and Remy Holt (who has only been in 1923 prior to her role in Beef) plays June. Andrew Santino, who is known for his role on Dave, portrays Michael, while Rek Lee is a rapper who's just getting into acting and has a part on the series, though he has done voice work on Adventure Time before. 

With such a nice cast, Beef is sure to be a hit on Netflix. If you're all caught up and want some clarification on how things wrap up, check out our rundown of the Beef ending.

There’s likely a part of us all that wonders what would happen if we indulged our pettiest desires, and Netflix’s Beef is an exploration of just that. Lee Sun Jin, who’s written on the FX comedies Dave and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has created a dark comedy series starring The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun and Always Be My Maybe star Ali Wong, as two people unwilling and unable to let a near-miss in a parking go. The series is a must-watch, according to critics, and the reviews are in to tell you why.

Beef is inspiring alternate takes on some of our favorite TV and movie themes. One critic calls the series “engaging feel-bad TV,” while another recognizes Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy’s (Ali Wong) first encounter as “the opposite of a meet-cute” and “hate at first sight.” But it takes a capable duo to pull off such a dynamic in a way that will keep audiences engaged for 10 half-hour episodes, and many of the critics are sharing praise for the leading actors’ work. Let’s take a look at the reviews.

Kristen Baldwin of EW grades the series a B, and while admitting it suffers from “Netflix Bloat,” with middle episodes that tend to drag, she notes that beyond the revenge story is an exploration into generational trauma and the Asian experience in America. The critic praises Ali Wong and Steven Yeun for what they are able to achieve, saying: 

Roxana Hadadi of Vulture also makes note of the performances, calling Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s characters “often hilariously mean.” Despite some repetition in how the rivals keep digging themselves deeper into resentment, Beef is rarely better than when its two stars are sneering insults at one another, the review states:

Ross McIndoe of Slant Magazine rates Beef 3.5 stars out of 4, using a number of contradictions for the dark comedy and its ultra-petty characters, including “hilarious but gut-wrenching,” and the aforementioned description of their “opposite of a meet-cute” being “hate at first sight.” The critic says it goes deeper than that, though, and is sincere in its depiction of two people who are in immense emotional pain. Regarding the performances, he says:

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com also gives the series 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling Steven Yeun one of the best actors of his generation, and saying that Ali Wong matches his every step in the best performance of her career in their portrayals of two people who feel they’ve had to take the high road too many times in their lives. The review continues:

The series garners a perfect 4 out of 4 stars from USA TODAY’s Kelly Lawler, who agrees with the above critic that Beef has succeeded in capturing the anxiety-ridden, anger-inducing world we live in. The review goes on:

In fact, all of the critics who rated the series on Rotten Tomatoes have similar positive takeaways. Beef currently holds a 100% Fresh critical rating from 49 contributors so far, with more to come now that the series has been released to those with a Netflix subscription.

In addition to this series, you can also take a look at Netflix’s upcoming movie and TV releases, and check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.

Marvel fans rejoiced when they heard Oscar nominee Steve Yeun would be joining MCU’s next ensemble film Thunderbolts. Of course, Yeun is familiar with the sci-fi and fantasy genre after films like Okja and the box-office hit Nope under his belt. Like many Marvel roles, there isn’t much none about his contribution to the upcoming Phase 5 film. That’s expected when it comes to the MCU. Now that the secret is out, the Nope star finally broke his silence on joining the Marvel universe.

Like many Marvel stars before him, Yeun kept his lips sealed until the studio dropped the official word. The MCU has been the benchmark for many Hollywood A-listers in recent years with multiple stars having campaigned to join the ever-growing cinematic universe. However, it wasn’t necessarily on Yeun’s Hollywood bucket list. The Walking Dead star spoke with Empire about what drew him to the latest Marvel entry. He said:

Joining the MCU was more about his allegiance to Jake Schreier than being a superhero. The actor and the filmmaker recently wrapped up the upcoming series Beef, which will premiere on April 6 through a Netflix subscription. Despite remaining mum about his role, Yeun’s hint at his character signaled Marvel fans might have a new fan favorite to root for or hate. Given the caliber of characters involved in the movies, it appears that the team will be very anti-heroic (a la The Suicide Squad).

Steven Yeun joined an already-stacked cast for the upcoming Thunderbolts. Along with Yeun, the ensemble film will see MCU faithful like Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus embrace new faces like Harrison Ford (replacing the late William Hurt) and The Bear breakout star Ayo Edebiri. Much like the Oscar nominee’s undisclosed role, the film’s storyline is currently unknown. There’s been no word on whether it will be based on an original story or drawn from the long-running comic book.

Before you see him in the Marvel ensemble, Steve Yeun will appear in Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite follow-up Mickey 17 scheduled for an early 2024 release. You will hear him before then as Mark Grayson in Invincible Season 2, which premieres through an Amazon Prime Video subscription later this year.

Thunderbolts is currently set as the penultimate film in Phase 5 before the rescheduled Blade reboot. Before those two movies hit theaters, check out what other upcoming Marvel movies are coming out in the next few years. While Steven Yeun doesn’t have any upcoming movies slated for this year, get into the new movie releases coming out.

After years of watching the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is gearing up to introduce another team to the silver screen. Thunderbolts is bringing numerous anti-heroes and former villains we’ve seen in the superhero franchise before to join forces, and among the other things we know about this Marvel movie is it’ll follow just a few months after Captain America: New World Order. Now word’s come in that a major star from The Walking Dead has been added to the cast.

Steven Yeun, who played Glenn Rhee on the flagship Walking Dead show from 2010-2016, has signed onto Thunderbolts, . Although the identity of the character he’s playing wasn’t shared, Deadline reports that the actor’s role is not only key to this movie, but could be significant in future MCU movies too. This is Yeun’s second comic book-related project, as he currently voices Mark Grayson in the animated series Invincible, which can be streamed with an Amazon Prime Video subscription and is returning for a second season towards the end of 2023.

Outside of the comic book media space, Steven Yeun drew acclaim for his performance as Jacob Yi in the 2020 movie Minari, for which he scored a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Yeun also caught attention last year for his role as Ricky “Jupe” Park in Jordan Peele’s Nope, and his other notable credits include Okja, Sorry to Bother You, Voltron: Legendary Defender and Tuca & Bertie. Yeun’s next movie lined up is Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, which comes out in March 2024 and co-stars Robert Pattinson and Mark Ruffalo, the latter of whom plays Hulk in the MCU. Yeun is also leading the upcoming TV show Beef, which premieres to Netflix subscribers on April 6.

Thunderbolts’ eponymous team consists of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. The Thunderbolts cast also includes The Bear’s Aya Edebiri in an undisclosed role, and Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the role originally played by the late William Hurt. It was revealed earlier this month that Ford’s Ross is President of the United States when we see him first in Captain America: New World Order, so presumably he’ll still be in the White House when the events in Thunderbolts play out.

Behind the scenes, Paper Towns’ Jake Schreier is directing Thunderbolts, and Thor: Ragnarok’s Eric Pearson wrote the script. While a filming date hasn’t been set yet, but Thunderbolts is slated for July 26, 2024, leaving MCU fans plenty of time to guess who Steven Yeun will play. You can ponder that mystery while you watch the Marvel movies in order with your Disney+ subscription.

Spoiler Warning: There are some massive Nope spoilers in the following article, so please exercise caution if you have not yet watched Jordan Peele’s alien movie.

There is a good chance that if you go up to anybody who has seen Nope and mutter the word “Gordy,” they’ll put their hands over their mouth or say something to the effect of “Man, that was brutal.” The scene in question, which depicts a chimpanzee snapping and viciously attacking his co-stars on the fictional Gordy’s Home TV sitcom, makes for one of the more unsettling and terrifying sequences in Jordan Peele’s masterful UFO movie. 

As disturbing and horrifying as it was in the 2022 theatrical release, a deleted scene showing the motion-capture actor portraying the enraged primate included with the Nope home release somehow makes the entire spectacle all the more terrifying.

The deleted scene, titled “Terry Attack,” is essentially the same sequence that was shown in the regular movie, but instead of a CGI Gordy going off the rails in a flashback showing how a younger version of Steven Yeun's character experiencing a traumatic event, it features motion-capture actor Terry Notary dressed up like the chimp with fake teeth, a party cap, a bloody sweater, and arm braces that allow him to walk like a primate. 

There is just something unnerving about seeing a talented actor like Terry Notary lose himself in his portrayal of an off-the-hinges chimpanzee, and it adds another layer of terror to the already horrifying display. The Nope deleted scene also does a tremendous job of showing how much of the flashback sequence was shot practically, with the only CGI being that of the Gordy model replacing Notary’s imitation in post-production. 

In the behind-the-scenes documentary titled “Shadows: The Making of Hope,” also included with the Nope home release, Peele suggests that when he was coming up with the scene, which was the first thing he and his crew shot at the start of production, he wanted to find the balance between horror and sympathy for the animal.

Watching the raw footage of Notary lose's depiction of the character, it’s not all that difficult to feel sorry for the chimp, even though he kills one person and disfigures another. This can be attributed to Peele’s argument throughout the movie about the exploitation of the natural world as well as Notary’s incredible performance.

Prior to providing the motion-capture work for Gordy in Nope, Terry Notary worked on some of the biggest movies of the 21st Century, with a list of credits that includes Avatar, the third and fourth Avengers movies (he portrayed Cull Obsidian and Groot’s movements), and the more recent installments in the Planet of the Apes franchise. That being said, it's easy to see how the talent and prolific actor was able to add so much to the scene.

The “Terry Attack” deleted scene and “Shadows: The Making of Nope” making-of documentary are just two outstanding bonus features included with the Nope home release by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment available at retailers like Amazon. The movie is also set to join other new movies streaming when it debuts November 18 on Peacock Premium. 

Warning: SPOILERS for Nope are in play. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, consider yourself warned, as we’re about to dive into the belly of the beast. 

Almost immediately after writer/director Jordan Peele’s 2022 movie release Nope came out, a new talking point started to take shape. Thanks to Peele's previous films Get Out and Us acting as intricate puzzle boxes, there’s a section that audience members have been questioning the relevance of in this third film. It all has to do with the traumatic backstory of Steven Yeun’s character, and whether or not it fits into Peele’s overall narrative.

Naturally if you haven’t seen Nope yet, this is your final warning before spoilers start flying. I’ll be going all over the map in discussing what I think the Gordy story has to do with the rest of the movie, and as such, I’ll need to talk about other events. If you want to know more about the movie without spoilers, you can read our official review for Nope. 

If you’re ready to dig into just what everyone’s been talking about, then you're in the right place. Let’s tackle how Gordy and an ill-fated day on his sitcom set planted the seeds for what Nope’s ending, beginning and everything in between was trying to say.

Steven Yeun’s Traumatic Backstory, AKA The Gordy Story

Let’s start with a quick recap of what exactly happened in Nope’s traumatic flashback sequence. It all connects to Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), the owner of the Old West theme park Jupiter’s Claim. A former child star, Park’s career wasn’t always about reality shows and family fun attractions. In fact, one specific day scarred him for life, in an event that I’ll call “The Gordy Story.”

Young Ricky (Jacob Kim) was the star of the hit ‘80s sitcom Gordy’s Home, a series that we become acquainted with through some short snippets that open and dominate a whole segment of Nope’s story. One day in particular would change Ricky Park forever, as the animal actor playing the titular role of Gordy went on a murderous rampage. Killing most of the cast, but only scarring one of his co-stars, Ricky witnessed a horrific event that ended in the chimpanzee being killed right in front of his eyes. 

Admittedly, even reading back a recounting of those events after seeing Nope may still have some heads scratching. That much became true in the social media responses, which spawned more fan theories that Jordan Peele is probably having fun reading. It’s in those messages that the story of Gordy has started to really find its footing.  

What Fans Have Said About Nope’s Supposedly Random Flashback

Fans of Nope have connected with the Gordy flashback in various ways. Just as Jordan Peele is open to interpretations of his films, there's a huge raft of reactions to these moments that feel unconnected. Twitter user “COACHBOMBAY3000” was one such moviegoer who wasn't sure how to connect Nope's sitcom from Hell to the creature flying in the sky, as seen in their reaction: 

Meanwhile, some viewers like “Kyiaaaaa” didn't think that the Gordy story fit with Nope's gigantic UFO plot all that much. Save for one thread between the two stories, here's how they took the flashbacks in the context of the overall film: 

Not everyone is willing to let Gordy go as simply. Rebutting the disconnect between Nope's plots at work, “JenKatWrites” tweeted this reaction: 

Connecting the dots with a previously mentioned reaction, “dojabins” brings it all home with this moment of talking things out: 

Running the table of readings, Nope already has the makings of a hotly debated film; and it's only been in the box office for almost two weeks after its the latest Jordan Peele movie's hit opening weekend. To truly see how the harrowing moments in Steven Yeun’s Nope backstory connect, you need to take into account the actual story that the film is trying to tell. 

The True Narrative Of Nope’s Story

I’ll admit, when I first saw Nope, I was among the many who wondered why the Gordy sequences were even included. I was trying to puzzle together just what Jordan Peele was doing here, again being influenced by how Get Out and Us had pretty intricately woven stories. 

Admittedly, Nope is a pretty basic storyline, as it’s rather A to B with what it’s trying to do. However, I believe that’s because Peele is engaging his subject matter in a very accessible way that invites the audience to participate in their own way. Nope is, above all else, about the subject of “spectacle.” 

Jordan Peele admitted this much in his interview with Empire, where he laid down the following crucial statement: 

Going into Nope, the word “spectacle” stuck firmly in my mind, and as such it was the cipher I used to solve just what the overall narrative was saying. Jordan Peele has examined pop culture’s “addiction to spectacle,” mostly through the main plot of OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) trying to nab proof of Nope’s central creature. 

However, there’s a much darker side of that same coin that’s explored through the story of Ricky Park and his own particular obsession with spectacle. 

How The Gordy Story Fits Nope’s Narrative

Trauma and spectacle are two circles that overlap throughout Nope. We see it in the mainline story, as OJ and Emerald are grieving the death of their father (Keith David), and the one thing that brings them together is trying to capture the alien creature that plagues their farm on film. That’s the positive side to Nope’s story, which gives way to the more negative side, as told through Ricky Park’s actions. 

“The Gordy Story” is a traumatic experience that turned into a spectacle, as we learned through Older Ricky’s spiel about people becoming obsessed with the Gordy’s Home tragedy. However, the child star never fully processed the events of that day, as we see in his flashbacks and even his shrine to that former sitcom.

Trauma and spectacle have fused together in Ricky Park’s psyche, which is why he’s not above doing everything from star in a reality show with his family to sacrificing horses to an alien presence to make a buck. Not to mention that his survival in the aftermath of the Gordy debacle must have convinced him that he somehow had a gift with animals, a trait that we actually see displayed by OJ Haywood throughout Nope.

A strong sense of overconfidence and showmanship have overridden Ricky Park and his potential for reason. That leads him to buy horses from the Haywood family, in order to feed them to the alien presence later nicknamed "Jean Jacket," and keep the paying crowds going. However, his final time running the show at Jupiter's Claim proved to be fatal, as it saw Ricky and his crowd eaten by the spectacle they came to see. 

Nope’s overall narrative is about the subjective lenses every one uses in their personal life to observe and pursue spectacle. In telling those stories described above, Jordan Peele forces us all to ask ourselves where the line is between pop culture spectacle and truly disturbing tragedy. 

That border isn’t concretely defined, as moviegoers are invited to answer those questions ourselves. More importantly, we're asked to define how far we'll push the boundaries between danger and safety in the name of such spectacle; with Ricky's cautionary tale serving as a morality play that exhibits the consequences of going too far. 

Ricky Park’s tragic backstory is another side of the coin we’ve been presented throughout Nope; and thus the Gordy flashbacks totally fit into the film, as they serve as yet another moral signpost we’re supposed to freely interpret. With such free interpretation comes even more questions; and the marketing campaign for Nope has a question of its own to pose to audience members new and old. 

If you want to gather your thoughts again, or just have a hankering to enjoy the IMAX-filmed spectacle that is this film, Nope is currently showing only in theaters. Just make sure that you’ve seen everything you need to see before drawing your final conclusions. You might also want to listen to ReelBlend's Jordan Peele interview, as some of the insights within might help bring everything into focus.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Jordan Peele’s Nope. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

Ricky 'Jupe' Park, the character portrayed by Steven Yeun in Jordan Peele’s Nope, is a guy with… issues. He’s a successful showman and runs what appears to be a profitable business in the tourist trap Jupiter’s Claim (which is now a very real attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood), but he’s also a guy with a traumatic past involving a career as a child actor and a violent on-set animal attack. Outwardly he’s a man who always seems to have a smile on his face, but he has a deep internal complexity – and that was very much something that the actor reveled digging into, both in collaboration with the film’s writer/director and via independent research.

I interviewed Steven Yeun earlier this month during the Los Angeles press day for Nope, and our conversation opened by digging into the character’s psychology. He broached the subject of trauma at a young age and how it can shape who you become as an adult, and he noted that it’s something that we hear a lot about when it comes to “child stardom,” but it’s also something that is part of everyday life. Said Yeun,

When Ricky 'Jupe' Park was a kid, he had big roles on multiple shows, but the most notorious was a sitcom called Gordy’s Home. The series starred Jupe opposite a real chimpanzee, and it was swiftly cancelled when the animal co-star had an outburst during production and savagely attacked the adult actors and filmmakers. Jupe seems to shield himself from the events by acting like it was a big pop culture moment he was a part of, and he even has a private, secret museum with props from the set. He processes his own trauma as spectacle, even describing it to Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ and Keke Palmer’s Emerald through the lens of an old Saturday Night Live sketch – which fits directly into to the broader themes of Jordan Peele’s Nope.

Hollywood’s notorious treatment of child stars in general very much fits with what it is being said with the sci-fi horror film, and Steven Yeun noted that there were documentaries on the subject that coincidentally were coming out as he was digging into the role. It seems that material was part of the tapestry, so to speak, but the actor was seemingly more engaged with the existential questions that the character presented him:

It’s fascinating material that will surely only grow more fascinating with more viewings and further dissection. The film, which just had a solid second weekend at the box office, is now playing in theaters everywhere (you can purchase tickets to your local cinema online). Read our Nope Ending Explained feature for a dissection of the movie’s fantastic UFO; look forward to all of the exciting genre titles set to come out in the coming months with our Upcoming Horror Movies calendar; and if you’re a fan of the actor, check out our Steven Yeun streaming guide.

It’s finally here. After a year-long wait, the public is finally able to experience Jordan Peele’s next horror film, Nope, for all fans of the world to enjoy. The highly-anticipated film has been talked about, hyped up, and now, we get to watch the story of small town residents who are starting to witness strange happenings - things that don’t seem like they’re from our world. 

With so many amazing horror movies that have come out during 2022, from The Black Phone to A24’s horror movie, X, this film only adds to the list with its star-studded cast. Jordan Peele already has a number of great movies and tv shows, and Nope looks like it will easily add to that growing list. Featuring amazing talents such as Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, the Nope cast is full of awesome actors that I am sure you have seen before.

Keke Palmer (Emerald Haywood)

Next up on this list is my girl, Keke Palmer, who I have been watching since I was a child and I was so excited to see her as the leading actress in Nope. Playing Emerald Haywood, she’s O.J.’s sister. Keke Palmer has been in many movies and TV shows, and has acted since she was young. 

While one of her biggest roles was starring in the Nickelodeon hit show, True Jackson, V.P. (where I discovered her years ago), Palmer has since expanded her resume incredibly. Some of her biggest roles on television have been a lead role in the Ryan Murphy-created series, Scream Queens, a big voice role in Winx Club, Berlin Station, Scream (the series), and Turnt Up with the Taylors. 

Palmer has also been in plenty of movies as well, including Akeelah and the Bee, Rags, Shrink, Madea’s Family Reunion, and plenty of others. In 2019, she had a starring role as part of the Hustlers cast, alongside Jennifer Lopez, and in 2022 voiced one of the leads in Lightyear.   

Daniel Kaluuya (O.J. Haywood)

Starring as O.J. Haywood is Daniel Kaluuya in Nope. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Kaluuya also had a leading role in Jordan Peele’s first ever horror film, Get Out, and he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. However, just because he may have been in another amazing Peele movie, that doesn’t mean Kaluuya hasn’t done plenty of other awesome things in Hollywood.

If we’re talking about television, Kaluuya has guest-starred and had roles in plenty of great hits. Some of his biggest parts have been a role in one of the first Black Mirror episodes, “Fifteen Million Merits,” playing Michael Fry in Psychoville, and portraying Posh Kenneth in the popular teen drama, Skins. 

Kaluuya has also been in very successful films. He won an Academy Award for his performance in Judas and the Black Messiah in 2021, but other than that, he’s starred in a plethora of movies, such as Sicario, Black Panther, Queen & Slim, Widows, Kick-Ass 2, and more. 

Steven Yeun (Ricky "Jupe" Park)

Playing Ricky “Jupe” Park in Nope is Steven Yeun, someone who is truly becoming a huge star. Steven Yeun gained worldwide popularity when he starred on the hit AMC series, The Walking Dead, as Glenn for six seasons, but has since starred in several other big-time TV shows and movies. 

Some of his biggest hits in regards to TV are the Amazon Prime original series, Invincible, where he voices the main character, and Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix. He also has had voice roles in Tuca & Bertie, Tales of Arcadia, and more. 

In terms of movies, Yeun has truly been all over the place. His biggest role so far has been playing an immigrant father in Minari, a film which garnered him an Academy Award nomination. Other than that, he’s starred in movies such as I Origins, Okja, Mayhem, Sorry to Bother You, and The Humans. He also starred as Ben in The Burning.  

Brandon Perea (Angel Torres)

Next up on the Nope cast list, we have Brandon Perea, who portrays Angel Torres, a tech guy who helps out the main siblings of the movie. This young actor has appeared in a few movies and TV shows, but one of his biggest roles was where he played Alfonso ‘French’ Sosa in The OA, a very popular Netflix series that was canceled way too soon.

However, Perea has appeared in a variety of other roles, as well. He played Kenton in Dance Camp, an online film, Dr. Tyme in Doom Patrol, and has appeared in the shorts Oh, Sorry, and Delivery. But, with a huge appearance in a film like Nope, it’s surely going to make his career skyrocket, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.  

Michael Wincott 

Moving on, we now have Michael Wincott, who also stars in Nope. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Wincott has been around for decades in the film industry and has starred in plenty of movies and shows that you might recognize him from. Some of his biggest roles in movies include Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Top Dollar in The Crow, Philo Gant in Strange Days, Ed Gein in Hitchcock, Dr. Osmond in Ghost in the Shell, Captain Frank Elgyn in Alien Resurrection, and so many more. 

In terms of television, Wincott has also had plenty of roles, as well. He played Adrian Cross in 24: Live Another Day, Old Bill in the HBO series, Westworld, Georgina in Veni Vidi Vici, and has guest starred on a variety of TV shows, from Crime Story to The Equalizer to Miami Vice. Truly someone who has been all over our movies and television shows. 

Barbie Ferreira 

Last but not least, we have Barbie Ferreira in Nope, who, compared to many of her castmates, hasn’t done as much in the industry, but that’s only because she’s just starting out. If that name does sound familiar, it’s most likely because you heard of her from the hit teen drama, Euphoria, where she plays Kat Hernandez as part of the Euphoria cast. 

Ferreira also had a guest role on the Apple TV+ series, The Afterparty, and had a guest role on Divorce. The only other film the young actress has starred in thus far is the HBO Max original movie, Unpregnant, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we get to see her pop up in a million other projects. 

It’s no surprise that the latest Jordan Peele movie has plenty of stars, and I can only wonder what they’re going to do next after this intense horror film. The real question, as Steven Yeun’s character says in the trailer, is this: Are you ready? 

Jordan Peele appears primed to creep us out and make us think yet again with Nope, his third go-round as director/writer in the horror genre. Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun are set to star in this sci-fi story, whose details remain mostly a mystery to its would-be audience — and that’s totally by Peele’s design. The reviews are in, however, to give us an idea of what to expect, and while they don’t all agree on how successful the movie is, there’s no argument amongst critics that Peele remains a master at creating suspense. 

Audiences’ first reactions to the film were pretty positive, with many praising the brother-sister duo of Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya. Let’s dive right in and see what they have to say about the atmosphere Jordan Peele was able to create and about the movie overall, starting with our own CinemaBlend review of Nope. Eric Eisenberg rates the movie 4.5 stars out of 5, saying Peele continues to make waves in Hollywood in the most remarkable way, and with his third project he again proves successful at dropping jaws and making viewers unconsciously stop breathing:

Robert Daniels of Polygon, however, doesn't agree. He says while Nope will certainly enthrall and frighten audiences, it's unlikely to stick with them. While this critic refuses to call this a "bad" movie, it is the weakest of Jordan Peele's trio, he says:

Matt Rodriguez of Shakefire enjoys the ride that Nope provides the audience, rating it 4 out of 5 stars. The director takes moviegoers on a roller coaster ride, building the tension to a climax before taking it back down to allow people to breathe before doing it all over again. From the review:

Lovia Gyarkye of THR says Jordan Peele proves, as with his previous ventures, that he's unafraid of his imagination. While she admits parts of the movie don't gel, this critic says Nope is as fun as it is ambitous, and Peele does a great job of balancing the humor with the overall suspenseful mood:

Like the critics above, Alonso Duralde of The Wrap notes that the director maintains a masterful level of being able to create suspense, and he does so several times over the course of the film. However, the metaphor he's trying to relay fails to come together, the review says:

Does Nope sound like a movie you’ll be saying “Yep” to? If you’re excited to catch this one in theaters, you don’t have long to wait, as it will premiere on Friday, July 22. You can also check out these other Jordan Peele TV shows and movies, and be sure to take a look at our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what else is coming to theaters soon.

“Nope” stars Steven Yeun and Brandon Perea call the project Jordan Peele’s “most ambitious film yet,” while talking to CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg. Watch as they discuss working with the acclaimed director, including “homework” they were given ahead of shooting, how they formed their characters, some of their favorite details on set and more!

Video Chapters:

00:00 - Intro
00:21 - The 5 Movies Jordan Peele Asked Brandon Perea To Watch Before He Even Got A Script
01:12 - How Steven Yeun and Jordan Peele Approached The Character’s Traumatic Past
02:53 - Steven Yeun’s Favorite Hidden Details Of His Character on Set
03:41 - How Brandon Perea Completely Changed The Character of Angel
05:35 - Brandon Perea’s Favorite Details Jordan Peele Included On Set
07:05 - Steven Yeun Has A Very Deep Meaning Behind The Shoe

Anticipation has been high for Jordan Peele’s Nope, following his previous two (critically acclaimed) forays into the horror genre: 2017's Get Out 2019's Us. Details of Nope’s plot have been kept intentionally sparse, because the writer/director wants to the film to be an unexpected experience for his audiences. Have no fear – the movie has screened, and now we can possibly glean a little more information from the first reactions to the flick, even as we maintain that delightful dread of the unknown.

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star in Nope as siblings who begin to see something (but what??) in the sky over their ranch. Aliens of some sort would be a good low-hanging-fruit guess for what’s piloting the UFO and causing all the creepy incidents teased in the trailer. CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell shared his reaction to exclusive footage of Nope, which was shown at CinemaCon 2022 earlier this year, and now Eric Eisenberg of CinemaBlend has seen the film for himself, tweeting that with Nope, Jordan Peele has gone 3-for-3: 

Erik Davis of Fandango has high praise for the film, which he says grabs you right from the beginning with its strong storytelling and leaves you wanting to talk about it long after. It's apparently unlike any UFO movie we've ever seen:

POC Culture says Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are so good as a sibling duo, and Steven Yeun shines as well. While the story may not be as strong as Jordan Peele's previous two movies, the social commentary is as poignant as you'd hope, and Peele remains a favorite filmmaker of this critic: 

Heather Wixson of Daily Dead News tweets that Nope completely surpasses her expectations. She name-checks Keith David and Michael Wincott as things she loves about this "absolutely phenomenal" summer flick:

Simon Thompson says Jordan Peele takes a big swing with Nope, and it was one worth taking, as this critic was left feeling challenged and hungry for more of whatever Peele has to offer us next. See this movie on the biggest screen possible, Thompson says:

Ernest Owens of Philly Mag says, "Run, don't walk," to Jordan Peele's latest offering, and, like a number of other viewers, praises Keke Palmer's performance:

Without giving too much (or anything) away about the plot, these first reactions definitely have me even more excited for Nope to hit theaters on Friday, July 22. Jordan Peele has said his movies are designed to be watched multiple times, with easter eggs layered throughout. He’s also talked about the mischievous pleasure he gets from scaring his audiences, so all signs point to moviegoers being in for a treat when Nope hits cinemas. 

We'll also find out a little more when movie reviews come out Wednesday, so be sure to check back to CinemaBlend for our take. In the meantime, you can check out these other Jordan Peele TV shows and movies, and also be sure to take a look at our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what other movies are hitting theaters soon.

Ever since Bong Joon-Ho dazzled us all with the 2020 Best Picture winner Parasite, movie fans have been giddy to see what the director is up to next. The South Korean filmmaker is currently assembling a cast for his next movie starring Robert Pattinson. In an exciting update regarding the untitled science fiction project, a Walking Dead fan-favorite has joined the cast. 

Steven Yeun has reportedly signed on for Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite follow-up alongside Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette and Naomi Ackie, per Variety. Yeun memorably played Glenn in The Walking Dead from 2010 to 2016, but the South Korean-born actor has also starred in numerous movies lately – including the critically-acclaimed 2020 film Minari and Jordan Peele’s upcoming horror movie Nope. Yeun previously worked with Bong before on 2017’s Okja. 

While the upcoming movie has yet to receive a title, it is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel, Mickey7. The novel follows an expendable, disposable employee on a human expedition to colonize an ice world called Niflheim. “Mickey7” is the name of the sixth cloned iteration of Mickey, who has died and been regenerated as a clone with his memories intact. When Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead on a scouting mission, Mickey8 is created, but he refuses to let his clone take his place. 

Robert Pattinson has been tapped to play Mickey7 since early this year, and The Batman actor was apparently Bong Joon-Ho’s first choice. The book has been described as The Martian meets Dark Matter, and it will be the filmmaker’s first movie set in space, though he is well known for making thoughtful science fiction films in the past (with his resume including films such as the previously mentioned Okja and Snowpiercer).

After Steven Yeun wrapped six years on The Walking Dead and it became his breakout role, the actor has shared before that he purposefully turned down parts that came to him that felt too much like his zombie-killing character. One of the projects he did take on just following leaving the AMC horror series was Bong Joon-Ho's Okja. 

The Netflix movie helped Yeun pave a path to more great work in movies, mostly of the indie nature such as Sorry To Bother You, South Korean drama Burning, and Minari. He followed a similar path to his new co-star Robert Pattinson, who was for many years making arthouse films following his work on Twilight. That changed more recently when Pattinson starred in The Batman. 

With Steven Yeun part of his latest project, Bong Joon-Ho continues to score some solid talent for his next movie. The filmmaker is also developing an HBO series based on Parasite alongside Adam McKay. While we wait for the Mickey7 adaptation, stream these movies you’ll like if Parasite was a favorite. 

There are some actors out there in Hollywood who have been getting bigger and bigger over the last few years, and one of those that I’ve come to really love is Steven Yeun. As a big fan of The Walking Dead, I was first introduced to this actor through his beloved character, Glenn Rhee, but overtime, my love for him has grown, and if you’re a fan of him as well, you need to check out these ten picks. 

For the best Steven Yeun movies and TV shows that are streaming or available to rent right now, look down below, as you’ll love any of these great options. 

The Walking Dead (2010 - 2016)

You knew this had to be first. The Walking Dead, known to be one of the best AMC shows out there, is an adaptation of the popular comic of the same name, following survivors of the zombie apocalypse as they deal with not only the dead that walk the Earth, but the humans who have turned to their monstrous side, as well. 

Understandably, this is probably where a lot of people know Steven Yeun from, and for good reason. He was the perfect pick for Glenn from the comics, and his portrayal of the famous character is second to none and became a fan favorite for many seasons. It’s a shame that we will probably never see him in the show again (if you know, you know). Rewatch the first six seasons, and you can love him in all his glory and awesomeness in this role. 

Stream The Walking Dead on Netflix.

Burning (2018)

Next up on the list, we have Burning. This South Korean psychological drama starring Steven Yeun, Yoo-Ah-in and Jeon Jong-seo tells the story of two childhood friends who reconnect one day, and end up meeting a new friend together, but when strange things begin to happen, one of the friends believes the other is in danger. 

I personally love this film. The South Korean film industry is filled with so many amazing films, like the Academy Award-winning Parasite, or even the Asian horror flick, Train to Busan, but there’s something about Burning that sits so deeply in my soul as a movie goer, as it’s one of those movies that sticks with you - including the performances of the lead actors. Steven Yeun is amazing as Ben, and gives a thrilling leading performance as a character he so rightfully deserved to play.

Stream Burning on Pluto TV.
Rent/buy Burning on Amazon.

I Origins (2014)

In I Origins, this sci-fi story takes a look at how love and destiny can sometimes intertwine and take us on journeys that we never would have experienced without them, focusing entirely on how the human eye can sometimes be the catalyst for that. 

I know, the premise sounds wacky, but I Origins is definitely a fun freaking time and a great addition to the sci-fi genre. Steven Yeun stars as Kenny, one of the lead characters of the film and a research partner, and he really drives the film in the ways in which he interacts with other important characters and pushes the story forward. It’s such an interesting concept, and Steven Yeun kills it. 

Rent/buy I Origins on Amazon.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-2018)

In this popular Netflix series, Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reboot of the Voltron franchise, and is set in a world where we follow Paladins of Voltron, who have to learn to work as a team if they want to defeat a serious enemy that threatens the lives of innocent civilians. 

For those who don’t know, Steven Yeun has a prominent voice-acting career, and while I could probably do a list of literally just his voice-acting roles, I’m focusing on a couple on this list that I think are his best, and this is one of them. His character in Voltron: Legendary Defender, Keith, is seriously such a well-written addition to the casting and Yeun’s excellent voice-acting only adds to that fact. The series has eight seasons - that’s right, eight, so you know that this show on Netflix is worth the hype. 

Stream Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix.

The Humans (2021)

Next up, we have the first of two A24 films on this list, The Humans. This psychological drama takes a deeper dive into the meaning of the word, ‘family,’ mainly focusing on the Blake family and how one night changes the rest of their lives.

Steven Yeun portrays Richard, someone outside the Blake family, but his role is essential in the small cast list, as he sort of acts as that outside look into the family that we, as the audience, get to experience, and he kills it. A24 really always knocks it out of the park with their films, and The Humans is no different. 

Stream The Humans on Showtime.
Rent/buy The Humans on Amazon.

The Twilight Zone (2019)

I bet you didn’t expect this one on here. Acting as a reboot to The Twilight Zone series, this Jordan Peele adaptation takes a look into strange stories that occur somewhere in an alternate universe called “The Twilight Zone,” and how its inhabitants learn to deal with these curious circumstances. 

Steven Yeun was actually the star of the Season 1 episode, “A Traveler,” where he played a mysterious traveler in a small Alaskan town, who gave more questions than answers as to where he came from. And damn it, he kills it in this, too. I swear, Steven Yeun has such a great eye for mysteries and horror because he’s been great in every role regarding that - and if he’s this good with Jordan Peele for one episode of The Twilight Zone, I can’t wait to see him in Nope. 

Stream Yeun’s The Twilight Zone episode on Paramount Plus.

Minari (2020)

You knew this would be on here. Minari is another fantastic A24 drama film that tells the story of South Korean immigrants who move to Arkansas to live the “American Dream” and start up their own farm in the 1980s, running into obstacles along the way. 

There’s a reason why Steven Yeun was the first ever Asian-American to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for Minari. He is fantastic in this film. If you thought he could act before, you need to see him in Minari, because he puts on a show that will make you cry, and I still feel that he should have won the award. Minari is a moving and emotional story that gave Steven Yeun so much room to show off his talents, and boy, does he deliver.

Stream Minari on Showtime.
Buy Minari on Amazon.

Wizards: Tales Of Arcadia (2020)

Another fun voice role on here, Wizards: Tales of Arcadia is a fantasy series that takes place in the Arcadia trilogy, following the story of the Guardians of Arcadia who travel back in time in order to learn about the future and why certain events occurred. 

While this show is a part of a trilogy and it is hard to follow if you don’t watch the first two series - Trollhunters and 3Below - I wanted to point out Wizards as I feel it’s the best part of the franchise, where Yeun’s character, Steve Palchuk, really shines and shows off not only his funny moments but a great character arc as well. And, honestly, if you want to watch the entire saga, all three shows are available on Netflix - and feature Steven Yeun’s great voice-acting, as well. 

Stream Wizards: Tales of Arcadia on Netflix.

Okja (2017)

Moving on, we have Okja. This Netflix original film follows the story of a young girl who has raised what is sort of a pig, only this animal has been genetically modified, and is now in the hands of the United States and its meat industry. Now, she must go on an adventure to save her beloved pet - with the help of some allies. 

Okja has plenty of stars in it, and it’s also directed by Parasite director, Bong Joon-ho, so there are already two reasons to watch the movie, but Steven Yeun as K, an activist for animal rights and someone who works with Mija (played by Ahn Seo-hyun), was one of the best parts of the movie. Namely, the on-screen chemistry that he had with Mija really made the film for me and it warmed my heart to see him portray a character that cared so much about the rights of animals. You just have to love him. 

Stream Okja on Netflix.

Invincible (2021)

Last but not least, we have Invincible. This popular Amazon Prime original series follows the story of Mark Grayson, a young man who develops powers much like his father and wants to become the best superhero out there, but as he learns to conquer his fears, he starts to find out dark secrets about his father’s past. 

This, right here, is Steven Yeun’s best voice role, hands down. Not only is Invincible the perfect superhero show, in my opinion, but Steven Yeun as the lead character, Mark Grayson, was such a perfect pick, as he accurately captured that combination of an awkward teenager learning to be a hero, and the complex issues that superheroes may go through. Invincible is not for everyone, but it’s certainly a fantastic show - and if you’re a fan of Steven Yeun, it’s absolutely worth your time. 

Stream Invincible on Amazon Prime.

There are just so many great shows and movies out there that Steven Yeun has starred in that you have to love, and these are personally my favorites. But, I’m sure that no matter what you pick, you’ll have a fun time, regardless. 

Even years after his departure, Steven Yeun is probably best known to as fan-favorite Glenn Rhee from The Walking Dead. The character's final moments on the popular drama were bloody and heartbreaking, yet Yeun was more than ready to move on. He had a whole new life waiting for him outside of the long-running show but, at the same time, he found it hard to get away from the series. The actor recently revealed that he ended up turning down roles following his time on the show and explained the reason for it.

The Minari star portrayed Glenn in 66 episodes of The Walking Dead, from 2010-2016. Although he’s done plenty of projects, both film and TV, since he was last seen on the AMC series, it took a little while for him to get to that point. The actor admitted to EW that he actually had trouble landing roles after departing the drama because he felt the new opportunities were too similar to the one he'd just left:

It’s understandable that he would want to try new things after having played the same character for six years. Leaving a massive series like the zombie thriller can be tough, considering that people, both fans and casting directors alike, can heavily associate an actor with a certain kind of role. So while it might be tough at first, many stars make the decision to cut ties with a project, in order to move on with their career and life. Despite leaving the series in 2016, Yeun did reprise Glenn in a voiceover role for Robot Chicken for its Walking Dead special in 2017. Aside from that, he's been doing plenty of other things and even scored an Oscar nomination for his work in Minari.

Following his departure from the zombie comic book adaptation, he spoke out about his exit, calling it bittersweet. However, he also mentioned that it felt “good to have completed something.” Fans may not have liked the way his character's story came to an end, but it was an emotionally compelling send-off for Glen. And since a show like The Walking Dead has brought fans much heartbreak over the years, it's comforting whenever an actor reveals that they're satisfied about how their character was phased out.

Though it's been five years since fans said goodbye to Glenn and Steven Yeun has clearly since moved on, it's not impossible that he'd take a role in the future that's similar to his late character? Or better yet, maybe he might shock us and make one final appearance on the AMC show before it finishes its run.

It’s been a while since Jordan Peele has shocked the world with a movie like Get Out or Us, though he’s lent a hand on other films like director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman in the process. But for quite some time, there’s been a previously unnamed project lurking in the distance. Amassing one hell of a cast including a starring cast of Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun, everyone has been wondering what the name of that movie might eventually be. Brace yourselves folks, because we now have the first poster and the title for that new movie, and it’s a very simple title: Nope.

Displayed boldly on a dark and foreboding poster, Nope accompanies an equally simple image. With a dark storm cloud floating towards a well-lit town, there’s no further indication of what will befall the people on the poster. But if it's anything like Jordan Peele's previous films, it's going to take a mysterious premise and twist it into something quite nightmarish. Try to figure out the mystery of Nope for yourself, courtesy of the poster below, which made its debut on Jordan Peele's Instagram.

There are a lot of questions that Nope already inspires the audience to ask, and all we’re seeing is an image that could very easily teeter into the realm of the ridiculous. A dark storm cloud, making its way to civilization, with a string of bunting you’d find at a used car lot is all we have to go by, along with the one word title that Jordan Peele has chosen. Could this be a lightning fueled disaster movie? Is this cloud going to eat people? Is civilization the cloud, and the town is society at large being destroyed by modern progress?

Answers are in short supply at the moment, but that’s part of what makes awaiting a film like Nope all the more fun. Who can forget the moment Us dropped the creepy and cryptic image of Lupita Nyong'o’s doppelganger, staring out from behind a mask? Part of the anticipation for a movie like Nope is the Jordan Peele brand, as well as the cast of actors he assembles to help tell such stories.

Nope marks a big reunion for Peele and his Get Out star/Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya, as well as adding in the likes of Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreira and Doom Patrol’s Brandon Perea. So while there’s no telling where this horror tale may be headed, we at least know there’s an impressive cast that will be put through the wringer. As we’ve seen in the past, if there’s anyone you can trust with a simple title and a stellar cast, Jordan Peele is certainly someone you can put on that list.

Nope will hit theaters on July 22, 2022; so our presently cloudy outlook on the film’s overall picture only serves to become clearer as time marches on. Though now we're thinking that there could be an outside chance that a teaser trailer will be attached with Old, which opens in theaters with early showings tonight. However, 2021’s release schedule is in full view, awaiting the enterprising moviegoer to discover its secrets.

This is a big year for Steven Yeun. The Walking Dead standout has been proving his star power for a while now (even when it was under-appreciated), particularly with acclaimed turns in Burning, Okja, Sorry to Bother You, and Invincible. But in March, Yeun received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in A24's Minari, which means that the future looks bright for the film-TV actor. While his schedule is a little light (for now, at least), Yeun has some promising titles on the horizon — in live-action and animation.

If you love Steven Yeun, here are the movies and shows that you should look out for, including The Humans, Jordan Peele's latest film, and possibly Invincible Season 2.

The Humans - TBA 2021 (Post-Production)

Steven Yeun made a name for himself with genre works like The Walking Dead. But in recent years, he has developed into a compelling dramatic actor, particularly with his impressive turns in Burning and Minari. Now, Yeun will continue to stretch his dramatic talents with The Humans, the directorial debut of playwright Stephen Karam, based on his Pulitizer Prize-nominated one-act play of the same name. This domestic drama takes place over the course of Thanksgiving dinner in downtown Manhattan as a family's tensions reach a boiling point when mysterious things go bump in the night. That's already an intriguing premise, and that's without mentioning the talent involved.

In addition to Steven Yeun, The Humans stars Richard Jenkins, Beanie Feldstein, June Squibb, Amy Schumer, and Jayne Houdyshell, who will reprise her role from the original Broadway production. Also, it's produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Rush, which means that it has serious awards pedigree involved. The movie comes from A24, the same studio behind Minari, which could bode well for Yeun's future awards season chances as well.

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans - TBA 2021 (Post-Production)

The feature-length continuation (and conclusion?) to Guillermo Del Toro's Tales of Arcadia trilogy on Netflix, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans continues the story that came to a close with Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, the fantasy series that followed Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia and 3Below: Tales Tales of Arcadia, respectively, starting back in 2016. The DreamWorks Animation series has been well-received by critics and audiences alike, and this movie should be no exception. It also features an impressive voice cast.

In addition to Steven Yeun, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans stars Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin, and Cheryl Hines, as Variety reported. While Steven Yeun has only played a recurring role throughout the series, his animated presence became a notable highlight. The same will probably be said for this movie.

Untitled Jordan Peele Project - July 22nd, 2022 (Pre-Production)

It was only a matter of time before Steven Yeun's phone started ringing. The actor only continues to impress with his recent performances, and his Oscar nomination proves that Hollywood is watching. Now, Yeun is in talks to star in Jordan Peele's untitled horror movie, which is in pre-production. Details are under wraps, but he will join Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya, reuniting with his Get Out director, in this mysterious film.

Otherwise, as Deadline reports, the only other detail we know is the release date: July 22nd, 2022. That said, production is expected to begin in the months ahead, which means that Peele's Us follow-up will serve as Yeun's next project. Certainly, this is a great role to score, especially after receiving some of his best reviews for Minari, and it should result in another outstanding performance. When we learn more about Peele's upcoming movie, we'll keep you posted.

Beef - TBA (Announced)

Watch out. There's beef brewing between Steven Yeun and Ali Wong — but only the small screen. (Hopefully.) The Walking Dead actor and Always Be My Maybe star are butting heads in A24's upcoming dramedy, Beef, which is a 10-episode Netflix mini-series that follows two people who let a road rage incident "burrow into their minds and consume their every thought and action," as Deadline reported. There's no word yet on when this limited series is expected to move forward, but each episode will be 30-minutes in length and it's expected to be an explosive — or, perhaps, sizzling — affair.

Created by Lee Sung Jin (based on his incident in his real life, apparently), Beef will be Yeun's first foray into television since The Walking Dead, and it sounds like a great project for the actor's developing dramatic talents, as well as his underrated comedic talents (be sure to check out his segment in Netflix's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson). There's no word yet on when Beef starts stewing, but we'll keep you posted.

Invincible Season 2? - TBA (Speculated)

What does the future hold for Amazon's Invincible? We're only at the halfway point in the season, but it's apparent that this animated adult superhero drama is establishing some major stakes. We don't know how Season 1 will end — at this time, at least. But there's a good chance that a second will follow, and Robert Kirkman, the creator of the show and the comic book that inspired it, is already teasing what he'll do if he gets the greenlight.

In a Collider interview, Robert Kirkman claimed that a second season was "entirely possible." In fact, he claimed that work might be underway already. Though the creator admits that the timeline would be "tightened" if another season came to pass, particularly as it took a few years to get the first one off the ground, Kirkman claims that plans were already in place for Season 2 — if people responded well to the first eight episodes. Therefore, this second season will probably happen, which means that Steven Yeun would presumably return to the voice booth to play his teenage superhero-in-training.

Recent Steven Yeun Projects

As noted earlier, Steven Yeun is on a bit of a hot streak. The actor is already impressing TV lovers with his titular turn in Amazon Prime's Invincible, and he has earned some of his finest reviews to date for A24's Minari. Outside of these notable performances, Yeun could be heard in Netflix's Wizards. Additionally, the voice actor reprised his role as Little Cato in the third season of Adult Swim's Final Space, which premiered this month.

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Spoilers are down below for the already released episodes of Amazon's new superhero series Invincible, so be warned!

It's somehow been over 18 years since Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker first delivered Invincible to an unsuspecting and superhero-filled world. While it didn't revolutionize the genre in the way that The Walking Dead helped spark a zombie boom, Invincible remained a consistently fun, engaging and brutal series throughout its 144 issues. Thankfully, Amazon's adult-animation adaptation is a worthy, bloody and star-studded counterpart to the source material, and Kirkman talked with CinemaBlend about that head-exploding premiere twist, as well as how bringing Invincible to TV compared to the Walking Dead process.

Though there had long been talks about various ways in which Invincible could expand beyond its comic origins, the animated Amazon series is the first of the projects to come to fruition, while the live-action take from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg is very much still in the pipeline. And it sounds like the wait didn't exactly hurt the development process. On top of being older and having more informed hindsight than he had while co-creating AMC's The Walking Dead with Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman noted that working from a completed storyline was an advantage he had with Invincible that wasn't possible with TWD. When I spoke with him during the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) aTVFest in February, he told me:

It may seem silly to point out that building a house from a blueprint is a lot more effective than coming up with designs as one works, but sometimes that kind of wisdom can only be learned through experience. It's not like Robert Kirkman would have put off the creation of the Walking Dead TV series for another nine years just so he could conclude the comic book first. But in having adapted TWD for TV before that comic was even half-over, Kirkman learned many of the ups and downs that come with balancing straightforward adaptations with completely new storylines and characters. And it sounds like he was able to put those lessons into practice with Invincible.

However, even though Invincible might be a more generally faithful iteration of its comic form than Walking Dead has been over time, that doesn't mean Robert Kirkman and his creative team are laying things out exactly as they went on the page. As the series premiere's final showdown between Omin-Man and the Guardians of the Globe proved, there are more surprises than meets the plopped-out eyeball.

Just ahead of Season 1's three-episode premiere on Amazon Prime, Robert Kirkman and Invincible's stars spoke with press, at which point I asked the creator about the premiere's ending revealing Omni-Man, Mark Grayson's dad, to actually be a villain. More specifically, I asked if having Red Rush's eyeball pop out of his head was a nod to Steven Yeun's infamous death scene on The Walking Dead. Here's how he answered:

Given that U.S. animated series rarely get as violent and bloody as their anime cousins, it was a disturbing breath of fresh air to watch that final fight in the premiere, as well as some of the bone-crunching fight scenes in later episodes. In some cases, those scenes are even more vicious to watch than Walking Dead's horror-driven moments, though obviously not completely, since Greg Nicotero's special effects and makeup on TWD are endlessly gross.

During our SCAD aTVFest conversation, I asked Robert Kirkman about Invincible's high levels of orifice-gouging violence, and whether or not anyone at Amazon had any advice about such things. Here's how he answered:

To be sure, had Invincible's first episode ended with Omni-Man killing the Guardians of the Globe in a car accident, or by injecting them with a slow-acting poison, it would not have made the same kind of mental dent that one gets from watching J.K. Simmons' character utterly decimate the team of superheroes. Viewers need to see him become a murderous monster to truly understand that yes, he is a murderous monster. But he'd never hurt Mark, right? RIGHT?

New episodes of Invincible drop on Amazon Prime Video every Friday, so make sure to keep your eyes on the prize before Red Rush starts putting his eyes on everything.

Comic book mastermind Robert Kirkman is best known to mainstream audiences for co-creating the franchise-spawning Walking Dead series, but he's also responsible for one of the greatest superhero comics out there with Invincible. After a few years of patiently waiting, fans have at last been gifted with Kirkman's animated take on Invincible, with the star-studded series debuting on Amazon on March 26. Regardless of whether or not you were familiar with the long-running series, which ended back in 2018, you're going to recognize just about everyone in Invincible's voice cast.

To that end, we've put together a handy guide laying out all the main Invincible characters and the talents that portray them in Season 1 and hopefully beyond. (Seriously, this show could and should last for a long time, even alongside the live-action movie that's in development.) Let's start things off with the Oscar-nominated star playing the titular teen hero.

Steven Yeun (Mark Grayson / Invincible)

As perfect as Steven Yeun was as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead, the role of Mark Grayson feels like an even more natural fit for the Minari actor. While Yeun could (arguably) no longer play the role of teen Mark in live-action, he's spot-on from a vocal perspective. Of course, Yeun has a lot of experience in that realm, with regular roles in such animated series as the Tales of Arcadia franchise, Tuca & Bertie, Final Space and Voltron: Legendary Defender among others.

Sandra Oh (Debbie Grayson)

It goes without saying, but Grey's Anatomy and Killing Eve standout Sandra Oh is as perfect as everyone else in the cast in the role of Mark's mother Debbie Grayson, who does a formidable job of balancing a household with her super-family. Millions of people recently heard Oh's work in Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon, which was around 98% less bloody than Invincible is.

J.K. Simmons (Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man)

J.K. Simmons is no stranger to comic book projects, having portrayed J. Jonah Jameson across two different Spider-Man franchises and a bunch of animated series, as well as playing James Gordon in both Justice League films. But he actually gets to play the superhero for Invincible as Mark's father Nolan, who also serves as the all-powerful and totally brutal Omni-Man. (His work as BoJack Horseman's Lenny Turtletaub will never not be great, also.)

Gillian Jacobs (Samantha Eve Wilkins / Atom Eve)

While waiting to see Community and Love vet Gillian Jacobs bring R.L. Stine's Fear Street books to life on Netflix, fans can check out her excellent voice work as Mark's classmate and superhero colleague Atom Eve (real name: Samantha). Jacobs is seasoned in taking on voice roles in shows that appeal to both adults and teens, having appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks, Regular Show, Adventure Time and Rick and Morty, to name a few.

Zazie Beetz (Amber Bennett)

Thankfully, Atlanta and Deadpool 2 star Zazie Beetz is playing someone who doesn't have to worry about messing with The Joker as it went with her character in Joker. For Invincible, Beetz is voicing Amber Bennet, a school chum of Mark's whose feelings might go beyond just platonic. The actress doesn't have quite as lengthy a list of voice roles as her co-stars, with a Robot Chicken episode serving as her only animated part prior to Invincible. But she'll soon be heard in the animated feature Extinct from The Simpsons director and animator David Silverman.

Jason Mantzoukas (Rex Sloan / Rex Splode)

Whether he's saying outlandishly gross and weird things on The League, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Drunk History or a large number of other TV shows, Jason Mantzoukas is known for going over the top, which makes him an excellent choice to play Invincible's egotistical and sex-crazed Rex Sloan. It also tracks that his alter ego Rex Splode can make inanimate objects explode. An actor and podcaster whose career took him everywhere in the last decade, Mantzoukas as delivered many noteworthy vocal performances in projects such as Close Enough, Big Mouth, The Shivering Truth, and Solar Opposites.

Walton Goggins (Cecil Stedman)

It's been scientifically proven that The Unicorn star Walton Goggins is one of the most watchable actors in Hollywood, both in TV shows like Justified and movies like The Hateful Eight – there's got to be a study somewhere, right? – and that holds true even when it's only his voice being utilized. For Invincible, Goggins is voicing the comic's governmental antagonist Cecil Stedman, and he brings the perfect drawl to the role, even if the character is hard to love.

Zachary Quinto (Rudy Conners / Robot)

It makes a certain amount of sense that Invincible's genius non-human Robot is played by the same actor who brought Star Trek's Spock to the big screen, Zachary Quinto. Embellished with the brain of Rudy Connors, Robot is a fun part of whatever team he happens to be a part of, and Quinto is a big part of that fun in the animated series. Like a couple of others in the Invincible cast, Quinto has lent his voice to projects such as Big Mouth and Robot Chicken, and also memorably voiced Lex Luthor in 2020's Superman: Man of Tomorrow.

Malese Jow (Kate Cha / Dupli-Kate)

The Unfabulous and Vampire Diaries vet Malese Jow is top-notch as Invincible's self-cloning heroine Dupli-Kate, whose powers are attention-worthy for all kinds of reasons to other characters. It appears as if Jow is fairly new to the whole voice-acting game, which isn't easy to tell from her performance. She does have a bit of experience in the world of superheroes, though, having recurred as Linda Park on The Flash, where she also portrayed an alternate Earth's version of Doctor Light.

Seth Rogen (Allen the Alien)

With a voice that is always distinctively recognizable regardless of the role, Seth Rogen and creative partner Evan Goldberg are gearing up to bring Invincible to the big screen as a live-action franchise. But before all that, Rogen lent his voice to the role of Allen the Alien, an E.T. who accidentally enters Mark's life as a threat and then becomes something of an ally. Rogen has popped up in vocal form on TV shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, but is more accomplished in that realm on the big screen, having audibly starred in hits such as The Lion King, Sausage Party, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and Monsters Vs. Aliens. Let's not forget that he also voiced the titular alien in the 2011 comedy Paul.

Mark Hamill (Art Rosenbaum)

Having played both one of live-action cinema's greatest heroes with Star Wars' Luke Skywalker and one of animation's greatest villains with his various performances as The Joker, actor Mark Hamill took on a much less in-everyone's-faces role for Invincible. In the Amazon series, Hamill voices the costume designer Art Rosenbaum, who's more of a behind-the-scenes character that's responsible for giving several of the heroes their signature looks. As accomplished a voice actor as Hamill is, he could have feasibly delivered his Art performance in his sleep.

Clancy Brown (Damien Darkblood)

Understandably, Invincible aimed to find as powerful a voice as possible to take on the role of its central superhero detective from Hell, Damien Darkblood, and they nailed the casting by bringing in prolific actor Clancy Brown. An actor celebrated for live-action roles in projects such as Shawshank Redemption and Carnivàle, Brown has appeared in superhero TV shows such as The Flash, Daredevil, and The Punisher, and is also one of the most accomplished voice actors in the Invincible cast. To name but a few comic book roles he's voiced over the years: Parallax, Lex Luthor, Mr. Freeze, Mister Sinister, Red Hulk, Thunderbolt Ross and Bane.

Kevin Michael Richardson (Mauler Twins)

One of the few cast members who gets to play two different characters on Invincible (sort of), as opposed to characters with two different identities, animation superstar Kevin Michael Richardson is the voice behind the Mauler Twins. The two geniuses aren't really twins, of course, as one is the clone of the other, even if they can't agree on who the original is. Like Mark Hamill and Clancy Brown, Richardson has seemingly been on every animated series out there and, more relevant to this entry, has voiced such superhero comic characters as Ego the Living Planet, Groot, Trigon, The Joker, Black Manta, Solomon Grundy, and Wolverine, among many others.

Andrew Rannells (William Clockwell)

Every teen superhero needs a best friend to let in on all the vigilante details, or at least some of them in Mark Grayson's case. His BFF of many years is William "Don't Call Me Willy" Clockwell, who is voiced in the TV show by Black Monday and Girls star Andrew Rannells. A veteran of the stage as well as the screen(s), Rannells is also an accomplished voice actor who has worked on the English dubs of several animated series such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Sonic X, and Tokyo Mew Mew, while also lending his talents to such U.S. series as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from the 2000s, as well as Apple TV+'s Central Park.

Various Walking Dead Stars (The Guardians of the Globe)

While their collective appearance was surprisingly short, but amazingly sweet, the superhero team of the Guardians of the Globe were voiced by a handful of Walking Dead characters in a fun complement to Steven Yeun and Robert Kirkman's combined presence. (Not to forget Khary Payton here.) Here's who voiced each character: Lauren Cohan as War Woman, Chad L. Coleman as Martian Man, Lennie James as Darkwing, Ross Marquand as The Immortal and Aquarius, MIchael Cudlitz as Red Rush and Sonequa Martin-Green as Green Ghost.

To be sure, Invincible features a plethora of side characters throughout its first season, and just about all of them are voiced by excellent actors such as Hamilton's Jonathan Groff, Fargo's Jeffrey Donovan, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, Rick and Morty's Justin Roiland, Nailed It's Nicole Byer, The Flash's Ezra Miller, True Detective's Mahershala Ali, and that's STILL not everyone.

New Invincible episodes drop Fridays on Amazon Prime Video, so don't miss out on the bloody superhero mayhem, but also don't miss out on the best movies streaming on Amazon Prime.

Minari, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, is a semi-autobiographical story about the Yi family. Jacob (Steven Yeun) moves his family from a comfortable life in California to a small town in Arkansas. Jacob dreams of starting a farm and living off the profits of that business. Life in Arkansas is far from what Jacob and his wife Monica (Yeri Han) hoped. All the film’s tension bubbles over into the heartbreaking but hopeful Minari ending.

In March 2021, Minari earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, and star Steven Yeun and Korean film legend Youn Yuh-jung both earned acting nominations. Many people who watch Minari will be blown away by this quiet family epic about the American dream and all the struggles and triumphs that come with it. The Minari ending especially offers a satisfying and showstopping conclusion. Let’s deep dive into the Minari ending. 

We're about to get into spoilers from the movie, so if you haven't watched it yet, read no further! And if you're looking to check it out, find out how to watch Minari streaming.

What Happened At The End of Minari

Jacob, Monica, David (Alan S. Kim), and Anne (Noel Cho) receive good news when a cardiologist lets the family know that David’s heart murmur will likely heal on its own. Jacob then gets more good news when the grocery store owner agrees to have Jacob be his produce supplier. While Jacob, Monica, and the children are heading to the car, Jacob gleefully talks about how this deal came at the best time. Monica sends the children away and Jacob and her have a passionate confrontation.

She lets him know that she can no longer be with him. Jacob and she accept that their marriage is done. Meanwhile, grandma Soonja (Youn Yuh-jung) faces a trash fire that becomes uncontrollable. When the Yi family arrives, Jacob rushes to the barn to try to stop it, then he tries to save some of his produce.

After seeing that Soonja is all right, Monica rushes in as well. They eventually give up and Monica breaks down as they watch the barn burn. The movie's final scene is of Jacob and David at the creek picking minari, the only thriving plant.

What Is Minari And What Does It Symbolize?

At one point in Minari, Soonja says to David and Anne, “do you even know what Minari is, you stupid Americans?” a cheeky nod to many viewers that are clueless about minari. As explained in the movie and by the cast, --Chung called it a weed in an interview with The Wrap, but Yuh-jung corrected him and said that it’s a vegetable-- minari is a versatile plant used in Korean households in various ways. It’s often used in cooking and as a medicine.

In an interview with Cinemablend, various cast and director Chung spoke about how minari is special because it’s a plant that thrives even in rough soil. He further explained in an interview on NPR’s Reset how minari really was something that his grandmother grew, and some of his memories with her tie back to them. He also explained that minari has a purifying effect and clears poor soil and water. In an interview with Deadline, Chung also added how minari doesn’t start to thrive until its second season. He saw this as an overall analogy for the immigrant experience, which he shared in a Filmmaker Magazine interview:

Minari also symbolizes the Yi’s story. At the end of Minari, the family is struggling financially and now have no product because their barn burned down, but this fire has basically regenerated the family. In the Minari ending, Jacob and Monica are now working together to get the farm up and running. It’s implied that the Yi family will come back stronger as farmers and as a family. They’ll build something better from the ashes of their original missteps.

Water And Fire In Minari

I only noticed how prevalent fire and, especially, water are in Minari because of the brilliant Bong-Joon-ho pointing it out in his interview with Lee Isaac Chung for Variety. When asked about it, Chung mentioned the biblical idea of two destructions, first with the flood and then with fire. His real memories echoed the tornado warning and his grandmother burning the barn, but he wanted to start Minari with a flood and end it with fire.

The film also has many instances where water causes destruction for the Yi family. First, we see it with the tornado warning, then we see it with Jacob’s crops not being able to get enough water, and even the bath scene between Monica and Jacob has a negative undertone because it’s when Jacob gives her permission to leave him if he can’t make the farm work. And if you want to stretch it further, the pee in grandma’s cup scene and then her peeing on herself after her stroke all tie into water being a source of pain and disaster for the family.

However, water is also used in a positive way in Minari, but only the creek water. The creek water provides the family with water when Jacob has used it all up for his crops. This also ties with the idea of the healing powers of minari, a plant that purifies the creek water.

How Minari Tells A Story That's Universal

Minari first and foremost is a Korean immigrant story, so Korean Americans and Korean immigrants will connect and understand this story in a way that other Americans cannot, but at the heart of this story is a very American story, a story of wanting to better oneself and family.

This is a story that many can connect to because it’s the story of the American dream. I am a black woman who grew up poor on the Southside of Chicago, and I felt deeply moved and connected to this film because it made me see my parents' struggles in a different way, and that’s one of the remarkable things about Minari. It feels so authentic and deeply personal, but also universal in a way that many can see themselves and their family in one or all of these characters. It speaks to the very human threads of hope, struggles, and perseverance.

Yeri Han summed up in a Korea Times interview how the film resonates with audiences of many different backgrounds.

Chung has spoken in many interviews, especially in the Reset interview, about creating a personal story that would leave a legacy for his daughter, but he also wanted a story that everyone saw themselves and got out of it different things.

The Hopeful Nature Of The Minari Ending

The Minari ending shows the Yi family getting good news, first with David’s heart murmur, and then with Jacob finding a grocer, but the second good news is immediately followed by bad news. Monica still wants to leave Jacob, and then all the produce is destroyed.

Despite these tragedies, the family comes out of it stronger than ever. We see David really run for the first time because he’s no longer burdened by the heart murmur and he wants to stop his grandma from leaving. Throughout Minari, he’s been telling his grandma to go, but he’s finally embraced her and wants her around.

We also see the Yi family sleeping on the floor together. At the beginning of the film, the family was completely against this notion, with Anne commenting that Jacob snores. We also see Monica and Paul (Will Patton) with Jacob as he pays to find a new water well, something he was against in the beginning. Monica being around also shows she is now actively supporting Jacob’s dream and participating in the farm dream. We also see Jacob possibly understanding Monica better when she also tries to save the produce. The growing minari also symbolizes hope for the Yi family to thrive in the future.

Former The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun had a big day yesterday as he landed his first Oscar nomination for his work in Minari. New Jeopardy! guest host Katie Couric noticed, and shared a post celebrating what is also an Academy Awards milestone: the first major nomination for an Asian American in the Best Actor category. It’s a big month for diversity in the world of entertainment, as Katie Couric is herself breaking barriers this month -- in her case on television -- as well.

It was a big day for the Oscars yesterday, as the most recent batch of nominations was officially announced. Not only were two women nominated for Best Director, but nine of the 20 acting nominees came from varying backgrounds ethnically. Minari ultimately landed six nominations, including one for actor Steven Yeun, who has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his work. Katie Couric had recently interviewed Yeun and director Lee Isaac Chung, and celebrated with the two on Twitter:

It’s a big month for milestones in general, as Katie Couric just hit one of her own. After a long tenure with Alex Trebek as the host of Jeopardy!, the long-running game show has had on a series of guest hosts to fill Trebek’s shoes in the short term. This has included previous Jeopardy! winner Ken Jennings and also executive producer Mike Richards. This week, Katie Couric began her tenure as the Jeopardy! guest host, becoming the first female to do so.

A slew of other guest hosts are going to take the reins over the next few months, including former NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Dr. Oz and some other leading ladies, including The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik and Savannah Guthrie. (The Big Bang Theory actress even mentioned it was a lifelong "dream come true.") It's hard telling which person -- if any of the upcoming hosts -- the show will stick with, but it is currently making history either way.

As for Minari, the new movie had a quietly charming release. It initially won multiple awards upon release at the Sundance International Film Festival before the world shut down. Then in February of 2021, A24 released the film into theaters and onto VOD platforms, where it racked up impressive notices and now some awards nods.

Steven Yeun himself has been quiet online since his Oscar nomination, though he told the LA Times he ate a Chia seed pancake to celebrate. Still, he has spent a considerable amount of time promoting Minari in the days and weeks leading up to and after the release of Lee Isaac Chung's film. Minari has clearly been a big focal point for the actor over the last year, and some of his former peers and co-workers shared their support after the big nomination came through, including The Walking Dead showrunner and famous co-stars such as Norman Reedus.

We'll have to wait and see if he ultimately takes home the major trophy, particularly since Chadwick Boseman landing a posthumous nod for Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom has been a big topic of conversation, but it an exciting development nonetheless.

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Not everyone follows every film production from inception to final release like some people out there and typically first hear about a movie when it starts to rack up nominations and awards. Such is the case for Minari, the Steven Yeun-led A24 drama about a Korean American family that picks up everything it owns and moves from California to a small Arkansas farm for a shot at their own American dream. Up for awards in six categories at the 2021 Academy Awards, Lee Isaac Chung’s emotional story of resilience in the Ozarks is getting a lot of buzz leading into the April 25 ceremony, and you can find out why now that you can watch Minari streaming.

Where Is Minari Streaming

Minari isn’t currently streaming on any of the major platforms considering it was first released in theaters in January 2021, but the story about a family that would stop at nothing to find happiness and a life of their own choosing is available as VOD title on a number of different services. If you want to watch and find out why the movie received Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, you can do so by renting a 48-hour rental for $19.99 on Amazon.

Rent Minari via VOD on Amazon.

You can also rent Minari on services like Apple TV, Google Play, VUDU, and any other platform that offers VOD releases. Most, if not all, services have similar pricing to Amazon.

Will Minari Be On Netflix?

Despite not currently being on Netflix, there is a good chance Minari eventually ends up becoming available on the streaming giant, especially when you consider the number of A24 films that are currently among the best movies on Netflix. And while an exact date, or even confirmation that it will land there, remains unclear, don’t be surprised if you see Minari land on Netflix at some point in the not-so-distant future. If all else fails, you could always watch Moonlight, Uncut Gems, or any of the other films from the studio's offerings on the platform.

How Minari Star Yeri Han Feels The Movie Represents The Korean Experience

One of the central themes of Minari, and perhaps what makes it such a worldwide sensation, is the bond of a family and how that familial connection is tested over the course of their journey. The bond is something that star Yeri Han, who plays Monica, told CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb in a recent interview that helped her better connect with the script as it was representative of her own experience:

To hear more of Yeri Han’s comments and those made by the rest of the Minari cast, check out all of the CinemaBlend interviews with the film’s stars and writer/director.

Minari is currently streaming through various VOD services, but if you want to see what else is coming to theaters and your favorite streamers this year, check out CinemaBlend’s 2021 Movie Release Schedule.

Awards season is upon us, folks. Today, the Academy announced the full list of nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards. Among the long list of nominees is Minari star Steven Yeun, who became the first Asian-American to earn a nomination in the Best Male Lead category. The record-breaking move by the Academy has been met with celebration by fans across the world, including a major show-runner on The Walking Dead.

Angela Kang, who has been working on the hit AMC show since 2011, shared a heartfelt celebratory tweet for Steven Yeun and Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari nominations. Check it out:

Despite Steven Yeun's Glenn being killed off The Walking Dead back in Season 7, it looks like there’s still a lot of support from the team running the show. It’s not surprising considering the elaborate Backstreet Boys sendoff they put together for his departure. Since leaving the show, Yeun has had an impressive career, appearing in the critically acclaimed South Korean thriller Burning and Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You.

Steven Yeun’s Best Actor nomination comes after Minari’s roller-coaster awards run, where it was relegated to the foreign film category at the Golden Globes, despite being American-made. Lee Isaac Chung’s film ended up winning the Foreign Film category. However, fans were still upset by the decision handed down by the Globes. Particularly because that the standard with which they place films into the foreign category had been loosely applied in years past.

Fortunately, it looks like the decision by the Globes didn’t hurt the film's chances at the Oscars, as Minari has earned a total of six nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The nominations came after last year’s historic Best Picture win for Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.

Despite his leading man status, impressive career and rising stardom, many fans still remember Steven Yeun as Glenn from his time on The Walking Dead. Over the course of the hit AMC show he became a fan favorite. That is until he was brutally dispatched by Jeffery Dean Morgan’s Negan in the Season 7 premiere.

With The Walking Dead ending its historic run with the upcoming 11th season, it’s unlikely that fans will see Glenn back in action. Although the zombie-filled universe has a number of spin-offs in production, the actor has already clarified that if there was a Glenn prequel show, he doesn’t think he’d be the right one for the job.

That’s okay though, because it’s looking like Yeun is slowly but surely climbing the Hollywood food chain. I’m sure that Angela Kang isn’t the only Walking Dead veteran who is excited for him.

I, for one, am among the ranks of the Steven Yeun hive and couldn’t be happier for the guy, especially after his bitingly hilarious performance on I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Fans can check out Minari on Amazon right now. As for the Oscar race, be sure to check back with CinemaBlend, where we will have a full round up of winners when the ceremony commences on April 25.

AMC's The Walking Dead has become a massive franchise over the years, as the zombie apocalypse has continued expanding with two different spinoffs and an upcoming theatrical movie. But the original flagship series is where it all started, and actor Steven Yeun played survivor Glenn since back in Episode 2. Glenn was horrifyingly killed off in the Season 7 premiere, and now Yeun has spoken to how this departure resulted in "weird feelings."

Throughout the first six seasons of The Walking Dead, Steven Yeun's Glenn nearly perished a number of times. But it finally happened at the hands of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan, with Glenn's head brutally bashed into nothing by his bat Lucille. Yeun recently spoke to what it was like leaving the show he had such a long history with, revealing:

The Walking Dead is known for its grueling shooting schedule, which often includes being outside in Atlanta in the scorching summer heat. And from Steven Yeun's comments, it seems the show's dizzying work pace resulted in him not understanding his own voice. But that eventually changed, and he was able to work on a variety of acclaimed film projects following his tenure as Glenn.

Steven Yeun's comments to Variety shows what it's really like working on a massively popular show like The Walking Dead. Yeun might have seen his character's death coming, as Glenn died at the hands of Negan in the same manner in the original comic books. Still, this seismic change in his career and daily life was something that created some mixed feelings for the actor.

In the end, Steven Yeun was indeed able to make it "the other side." The 37 year-old actor took on a number of roles since The Walking Dead, including notable gigs in Netflix's Okja and the recent Oscar contender Minari. And he learned quite a bit from his time in the zombie apocalypse, as Yeun further explained:

The man's got a point. In addition to the acting and professional training that he picked up while playing Glenn on The Walking Dead, the AMC show itself was a beast. He had long hours, a ton of action and stunt work, and was often covered in fake blood and guts. Now Steven Yeun can handle pretty much anything, and the sky's the limit.

Steven Yeun has most recently been making headlines for his role in A24's acclaimed drama Minari. The film festival favorite went viral when it was revealed that the Golden Globes would be putting the film in the Foreign Film Category, despite it being made in America by an American production company. We'll just have to wait and see how that story develops as Awards Season gets closer.

The Walking Dead and its two spinoffs currently air on AMC. Be sure to check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch.

For anyone who is familiar with Steven Yeun largely for his years mauling zombies on AMC's The Walking Dead, know that there are many more sides to the actor than just "bloody and serious-faced." And while Yeun's filmography may not indicate that he's expertly attuned to comedic performances, the actor is an absolute hoot whenever he lands a project that allows him to spread those wings in full. In fact, Yeun spent many of his pre-TWD days in the world of sketch comedy, though that career path unfortunately never made it to SNL's front door before he changed gears.

Steven Yeun is currently on the promotional trail for his already acclaimed new movie Minari, the drama that took home the Grand Jury and Audience prizes at this year's Sundance Film Festival. While talking about his role and the film's impact with Variety, Yeun reflected on his entrance into the entertainment world, which was sparked by a random woman's inspiring advice for him to become an actor. He leaned into honing his improv comedy skills at Chicago's legendary Second City theatre, which birthed the careers of many iconic comedians, and SNL stars in particular.

But after his time at Second City, which included touring around the country as an understudy for future SNL star Vanessa Bayer, Steven Yeun recognized that he was heading for a glass ceiling in the world of comedy. In his words:

Steven Yeun's thought process is a frustrating one to hear, since he basically had to side-step his goals and sincere career desires due to the lack of Korean actors (or any performers of Asian descent) present on Saturday Night Live or within any other major comedy institutions. Since then, SNL welcomed and promoted the aforementioned Bowen Yang, and while Yeun is absolutely on point in regards to Yang's input thankfully being far more than just aged stereotypes, it's a shame that it took so long to make it happen, and that it may potentially be the only example for years to come.

As much of a bummer as it is that Steven Yeun didn't think himself capable of following Vanessa Bayer to SNL, it's hard to get mad about him eventually landing on The Walking Dead and becoming arguably the most pitch-perfect actor who could have played the fan-favorite comic character Glenn. Granted, Yeun also came away from that series with some frustrations, since Glenn didn't always get his narrative dues before he was brutally killed off, but I can't imagine anyone else playing that role and earning the same kind of sympathy and adoration from the highly picky fanbase.

To that end, Vanessa Bayer spoke highly of Steven Yeun's acting skills, saying:

In the years since he exited The Walking Dead, Steven Yeun has been able to flex his comedic muscles more, from guest spots on comedies like Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson to voice work on animated faves like Tuca & Bertie and Final Space. (Not to mention his Glenn reprisal for Robot Chicken's Walking Dead special in 2017.) He also lent his voice to an adaptation of the excellent comic series Chew, and is heading up Robert Kirkman's upcoming Amazon superhero series Invincible, with Yeun as the quippy lead.

While not necessarily likely, it's possible that Steven Yeun could return to TWD for the upcoming anthology project Tales of the Walking Dead, perhaps for a flashback story with Lauren Cohan's Maggie. While waiting to hear if that happens or not, be sure to check out his award-winning feature Minari (which is currently in the middle of a contentious Golden Globes debate) and stay tuned to our Winter and Spring 2021 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are hitting the small screen soon.

The Golden Globes recently became the subject of controversy after announcing Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari would not be considered for Best Picture. The film, which was primarily shot in Oklahoma and produced by American production companies A24 and PlanB Entertainment, would instead be considered for Best Foreign Language Film. The decision has ignited backlash across social media, with filmmakers and stars alike decrying the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) verdict on Twitter.

Andrew Phung, who plays Kimchee in CBS’s Kim’s Convenience, tweeted that almost every aspect of Minari is American, including its cast. As he put it:

Minari stars South Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, who fans will recognize as Glenn from The Walking Dead, as a South Korean immigrant who tries to survive in rural Arkansas. Simu Liu, who plays Jung Kim alongside Phung in Kim’s Convenience, and stars in the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, added:

Despite the plot and nationality of those involved, the language spoken in a film is the defining feature for the HFPA, according to the Golden Globes rules:

In accordance with its own rules, the HFPA moved Minari to the Best Foreign Language Film category, rather than Best Picture, the category it was originally submitted to. Harry Shum Jr, who starred in Fox’s Glee, tweeted that this rule has not been consistently applied in the past:

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds was accepted as a nominee for the 2010 Best Picture award at the Golden Globes, despite roughly thirty percent of the film being in English. This begs the question: why did Tarantino's film make the cut, but Minari didn't? Lulu Wang, whose film The Farewell received the same foreign film designation at the 2020 Golden Globes, weighed in:

The HFPA decision seems to be at odds with other major awards organizations. Earlier this year, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, a South Korean film, made history as the first foreign language film to win Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced new slate of qualifying rules to promote diversity and inclusion. Perhaps the social media backlash will be enough for the Golden Globes to reconsider its decision, as the ceremony doesn't take place until February 28, 2021, and nominations aren't official until February 3, 2021.

The general public will also have to wait to get their eyes on Minari, as it doesn't release until February 12, 2021. Until then, stay up to date on the latest news concerning the Golden Globes and Minari with CinemaBlend, as we will be publishing comprehensive lists of nominations and winners as they are announced.

Having left The Walking Dead in the midst of its ninth season back in 2018, Lauren Cohan is returning on a full-time basis for the Season 10 extension, and she'll likely be sticking around until the AMC drama closes out Season 11 in 2022. That's obviously fantastic news for both Maggie and the character's fervent fanbase, with viewers getting their first glimpse of her return during the long-delayed "A Certain Doom," which was initially meant to close out the season back in April. But could Cohan also appear elsewhere in the franchise?

I'm not talking about Lauren Cohan following Lennie James and Austin Amelio to join Fear the Walking Dead, but rather having Maggie take part in an episode (or more) of the impending anthology spinoff Tales of the Walking Dead, which will delve into untold stories from this undead universe, both involving familiar characters and new ones. Appearing on AMC's recent Walking Dead-verse preview special, Cohan said she would love to see episodes focusing on Alpha and Father Gabriel's respective backstories. But when I spoke with the actress this week about Season 10's pseudo-finale, I asked if she would be interested in the show showing unseen moments from Maggie and Glenn's past prior to Negan's deadly arrival. Cohan truly seemed touched by the idea, saying:

I'm pretty sure that fans would go absolutely bananas if Steven Yeun agreed to return to the role of Glenn for a flashback episode of Tales of The Walking Dead, especially if the point was to showcase previously unseen moments from his relationship with Maggie. Glenn's brutal death in the Season 7 premiere (along with Abraham's) was a major breaking point for some viewers, so Yeun and Cohan's TV reunion could hypothetically bring a bunch of fans back into the fold if it would ever happen.

After thinking on it for a second, Lauren Cohan did talk about one particular point in the Walking Dead timeline that she'd like to return to, and speculated that fans could possibly see it happen at some point. In her words:

The dinner scene she's talking about is, of course, the dream sequence from the Season 7 premiere, in which Glenn is shown to be alive and well and holding onto Baby Hershel, despite the fact that his head had already been turned to jelly in the real world. It would definitely be interesting to see what kinds of moments were filmed that didn't end up making it into the episode. I'm assuming nothing with Maggie and Negan playing charades or anything like that.

In any case, it sounds like Lauren Cohan would be on board with bringing Maggie and Glenn back to fans for at least one episode of the Tales of the Walking Dead anthology show. For what it's worth, while Steven Yeun had his issues with Glenn's portrayal over the years, he did say back in 2018 that he wasn't interested in reprising the Young Glenn that Rick first met in Season 1, but didn't fully turn down the idea of returning to the character at a later age.

Here's hoping Scott Gimple, Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang and all the other producers are listening, and that they don't plan on keeping Lauren Cohan too busy filming upcoming TWD episodes that the Maggie and Glenn reunion would be impossible to put together. (And if they are listening: Hey, Scott and Angela!)

The Walking Dead will return to AMC temporarily for its Season 10 finale-for-the-moment, so be sure to tune in on Sunday, October 4, at 9:00 p.m. to see exactly how Maggie returns, and which characters she gets to interact with first. In the meantime, stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more TWD-verse coverage, and head to our Fall TV 2020 premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.

After seven years as The Walking Dead’s Glenn, actor Steven Yeun left the AMC hit zombie drama and branched out further into the world of cinema. With notable roles in films such as Burning and Mayhem, Yeun has made quite an impression on audiences and critics alike. But his latest film, writer/director Lee Issac Chung’s Minari, looks like it’s another groundbreaking moment for Steven Yeun’s career, as well as for studio A24. Take a look at this emotional family drama in the trailer below:

Minari focuses on a Korean-American family who move to Arkansas, in hopes of starting a family farm to earn their living. However, that dream is complicated by everything from the condition of the land itself to the young son of the family struggling with conflicting ideals of family life. Just taking in this first look at Minari’s heartfelt drama, you can already tell that you’ll be crying by the end of the film, with both happy and sorrowful tears in the mix.

While the story of Minari looks like it’s set to put a good amount of focus on David (Alan Kim) and his relationship with his grandmother through the lens of both Korean and American values, Steven Yeun’s role as the patriarch of the family looks to be crucial to this theme. With his character Jacob dealing with some hard adjustments of his own, Yeun’s dramatic chops really get a workout in a family drama that feels familiar, but at the same time fresh and diverse. Though the family may be new, the tears will definitely be familiar.

One could imagine that Lee Issac Chung and his cast were more on the happy side of the crying spectrum when shepherding Minari through this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film looks like an absolutely emotional experience in the same vein of past films like The Farewell and Waves, which is a particular style of film that A24 accels at fostering in its ranks. On top of all of that promise is the fact that Chung’s picture actually won two pretty significant accolades at Sundance back in January, with Minari snagging both the Grand Jury Prize as well as the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award.

In a year where the awards race is still in the “your guess is as good as mine” phase, Minari is a product that’s set to break and warm hearts, while undoubtedly going for big time gold in the next voting cycle. So far, it looks like it’s going to be one hell of a movie to beat, as Steven Yeun and the ensemble he’s a part of look like they’re ready to help this film go the distance.

Minari doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it could be assumed that this film will be released either later in 2020, or early 2021, for awards consideration. As soon as we have an update on when you should expect to see this film, you can count on CinemaBlend to break the news as it develops; most likely on our frequently updated 2020 or 2021 release schedules.

While The Walking Dead universe is at an unfortunate standstill at the moment, the franchise will be ending 2020 in a huge way, with Fear the Walking Dead and TWD: World Beyond both debuting in October along with the flagship drama's long-awaited Season 10 finale. It's even been announced that The Walking Dead's tenth season is expanding with more episodes in 2021. While all things Dead are looking promising for the future, one fan asked executive producer and former showrunner Scott Gimple about looking back to the past for a prequel project.

During The Walking Dead's pre-recorded panel for Comic-Con@Home, moderator Chris Hardwick posed a fan question to Scott Gimple that asked which character he would want leading a spinoff series taking place completely in the pre-apocalyptic time setting. With nary a second of hesitation, which is relatively rare for a guy who delivers 90% non-straightforward answers to Walking Dead questions, Gimple replied with:

As hard as it might be to believe, Steven Yeun has been absent from The Walking Dead for nearly four years now, having been officially killed off in the Season 7 premiere. That rage-inducing episode also featured a lovely fantasy dinner sequence that I kinda wish was the reality, while everything else that happened since could be marked down to being a bloody fever dream. In any case, probably the only way fans could ever see Glenn again is through some form of a prequel series focusing on his life before he crossed paths with Dale, Carol and the Grimes family. (Minus a surprise flashback moment for Maggie or something along those lines.)

Now, none of this means that anyone at AMC is giving a thumbs up to a Glenn Rhee spinoff series, and this was (at least for now) just Scott Gimple having some fun during a Comic-Con panel where audiences and press were completely absent. Of course, Gimple IS the Walking Dead franchise's Chief Content Officer, so he and comic book creator Robert Kirkman would be the main pair who could get a standalone Glenn prequel going, should anyone at the network be interested in ordering up such a project.

Of course, Steven Yeun likely wouldn't want to return for a premise where he's supposed to be playing a younger version of himself, since he previously had no interest in doing that. Yeun also spoke out a couple of times in recent years about Glenn being underappreciated and not given enough of his own core storylines. So while he doesn't necessarily have bad blood with The Walking Dead, he isn't exactly jumping at the chance to get back into that universe. Granted, he did re-team with Robert Kirkman for the lead voice role for his upcoming Amazon superhero series Invincible, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, seemingly proving his relationship with Kirkman is genial enough.

While Scott Gimple wasn't willing to speak much more about a potential Glenn spinoff, the EP did continue long-game teasing that fans are going to see The Walking Dead branch out in several different directions in the future. In his words:

Does that mean Steven Yeun could possibly return for a single Glenn-centered episode or special, as opposed to a full-blown TV season? Technically, yes. Although Gimple could just as well be talking about installments focusing on The Governor, or the Greene family, or Rick Grimes' brother that was only barely mentioned on TV (while being explored for the Alien comic one-off.) As it usually goes with this show, being patient until later is key.

The Walking Dead is set to return to AMC for its Season 10 finale on Sunday, October 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more TWD updates, and head to our 2020 Fall TV schedule to see what's new and returning to the world.

Since its debut on Halloween night in 2010, AMC's The Walking Dead has gone from an intimate adaptation of the Robert Kirkman's long-running comic book series to a massive cultural phenomenon thanks in part to the the rich storylines and the expansive cast that almost outnumbers the army of zombies that populate the show's landscape. And over the course of the show's first 10 seasons, many members of the cast like Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Jon Bernthal have become gone from relatively unknown actors to massive stars.

But with a cast as large as the one on The Walking Dead there are bound to be a few that leave the show either because their characters' stories are finished or they want to move onto something else and further their careers. And even though we'll be seeing the return of Lauren Cohan's Maggie when Season 11 premieres, what about some of the other former members of the cast who left the series. What are they up to?

Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes)

Andrew Lincoln served as the anchor of the larger The Walking Dead cast with his portrayal of Rick Grimes for the show's first nine seasons, but the English actor and aggressive zip-up sweater wearing hopeless romantic in Love Actually had been planning on leaving the show as early as Season 8 but stayed on for one more season before leaving to spend more time with his family. Since leaving the AMC series, Lincoln has kept a relatively low profile, but he is set to appear in the upcoming drama Penguin Bloom where he will star alongside Naomi Watts. And despite no longer being on the show, Lincoln recently gave former co-star Danai Gurira a touching sendoff following her final episode. 

Speaking of The Walking Dead, we're still waiting for more news on those spinoff movies featuring the return of Rick Grimes.

Danai Gurira (Michonne)

It seems like it was just yesterday that Danai Gurira announced that she would be stepping away from her role of Michonne after Season 10 of The Walking Dead, explaining that she was being called to other things in her life during a panel at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. Even before and since her departure, Gurira has remained quite busy balancing time as a hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as a hero in the real world as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, which she was named in December 2018. On top of that, the former The Walking Dead star is busy at work writing the upcoming HBO Max series Americanah, as well as Godzilla Vs. Kong, which is slated to come out in the November 2020.

Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh)

Jon Bernthal is one of those quietly amazing actors, and that was no different in his portrayal of Shane Walsh, Rick Grimes' former best friend-turned-enemy in the first two seasons of The Walking Dead. The role was suspected to be short-lived from the jump, but there are times when you can't help but miss the gravity Shane brought to many of the situations early on in the series. 

Since leaving the series, Bernthal has become one of the most prolific actors of our time with bit roles in a number of instant-classics as well as Frank Castle on the Netflix Marvel series Daredevil and Punisher. And with several upcoming projects including the TV adaptation of American Gigolo and The Many Saints Of Newark (the long-awaited prequel film to The Sopranos), it looks like we'll be seeing more of Bernthal for years to come.

Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes)

For three seasons on The Walking Dead, Sarah Wayne Callies portrayed Lori Grimes, but the character's fate when she sacrificed herself to give birth to Judith during a Cesarean section that ultimately took her life. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Callies stated that the character had to die in order to push Rick Grimes to the next level. After leaving the show, Callies went on to return to the Fox series Prison Break as well as the TNT drama Colony. The actress is currently on the NBC series The Council Of Dads, a series Callies told The Sioux City Journal stopped her from quitting acting altogether.

Laurie Holden (Andrea)

Laurie Holden was quite vocal about the death of her character Andrea in the Season 3 finale of The Walking Dead, the culmination of a storyline with the Governor the actress was not too fond of following her departure. Since leaving the show, Holden has remained quite busy both with her acting career (which most recently included television work on Proven Innocent and animated feature Arctic Dogs) and her work in charity and human rights work, including the Somaly Mam Foundation, Operation Underground Railroad, and Home From Home.

Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale Horvath)

Jeffrey DeMunn was one of the members of the original Atlanta crew in the first two seasons of The Walking Dead, but the actor asked to be killed off after Frank Darabont, the original showrunner, was pushed out of the production. DeMunn and Darabont have worked together multiple times over the years starting with the 1994 release of The Shawshank Redemption, so it should come as no surprise that the actor would leave in that fashion. Since leaving the show, DeMunn has remained busy in film and television, including the Showtime series Billions, where he currently plays Chuck Rhoades, Sr.

Steven Yeun (Glenn Rhee)

There is no death on The Walking Dead more shocking and unsettling than the brutal murder of Steven Yeun's Glenn by the hands of the evil Negan. Like many of the characters in the series, their deaths were predetermined in the pages of the original comic series, and that's the case for Glenn, though Robert Kirkman shared with Entertainment Weekly that there were talks of keeping him around. Those talks never panned out, but Yeun has stayed busy with projects like Sorry To Bother You, Burning, and the upcoming A24 feature The Humans, where the actor will star alongside Jayne Houdyshell, Richard Jenkins, Beanie Feldstein, Amy Schumer, and June Squibb.

Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon)

Michael Rooker only appeared in 14 episodes of The Walking Dead, but his performance as Daryl Dixon's older and antagonistic brother Merle is one worth remembering. There was no saving Merle after he turned into a zombie at the end of Season 3, but the death of his character hasn't stopped Rooker from continuing his career in film and television. After leaving the series, Rooker became an even bigger star following his portrayal of Yondu in Guardians Of The Galaxy and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2., where he reunited with James Gunn. The partnership, which started with Slither, will continue when Rooker appears in Gunn's 2021 The Suicide Squad. And expect to see the actor enter the Fast And Furious franchise with the 2012 release of F9.

Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes)

One of the biggest shocks of Season 8 of The Walking Dead was the early departure of Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes from the series when Rick's son was bitten by a walker, ending his run in the process. Fans and stars of the show were equally as shocked by former showrunner Scott Gimple's choice of killing off one of the central characters, but no one took it as bad as Riggs' father who had some choice words for Gimple after his son was written off the show. In 2019, the former The Walking Dead star was cast as Patrick "PJ" Nelson on the ABC drama, A Million Little Things, which was renewed in March 2020.

Sonequa Martin-Green

Sonequa Martin-Green  originally auditioned for the role of Michonne in The Walking Dead. Though the part ended up going to Danai Gurira, Martin-Green snagged the part of Sasha. She recurred on the series in Season 3 and was bumped up to a series regular in The Walking Dead's fourth season. Like many of her other former cast-members, Martin-Green's character had a very memorable exit. After her departure from The Walking Dead, Martin-Green took a starring role in the CBS All Access series, Star Trek: Discovery. She's also expected to appear in Space Jam: A New Legacy in 2021.

David Morrissey (Philip "The Governor" Blake)

Before the introduction of Negan, there was no character more dastardly or deadly than David Morrissey's portrayal of Philip "The Governor" Blake" starting in Season 3 of The Walking Dead. Like many of the characters featured in both the comic and television series, The Governor suffered a violent death during the Season 4 midseason finale. Since leaving The Walking Dead, Morrissey has gone on to have roles in Inside No. 9, the Amazon series Good Omens, and the upcoming Dampyr adaptation.

Lennie James (Morgan Jones)

Morgan Jones, portrayed by the great Lennie James, was one of the first characters Rick Grimes meets in Season 1 of The Walking Dead, and the character showed up several more times over subsequent seasons before becoming a member of the main cast starting in Season 6. And despite dying in Season 8, Morgan had the rare distinction of showing up in the spinoff series Fear The Walking Dead, where James remains as a series regular. In addition to The Walking Dead universe, James has shown up in films like Blade Runner 2049 and the upcoming Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.

Those are just a few of former The Walking Dead stars that have gone on to continue their careers in film, television, and elsewhere in recent years. I'm sure whenever the show returns, we can expect to see more characters and actors on this list. If you want to know which former castmember hasn't watched the AMC series, you can check that out here on CinemaBlend.

One of the most successful comic book adaptations of all time is The Walking Dead. The AMC show, which Frank Darabont developed from Robert Kirkman's popular comic series chronicling humanity's struggle to survive a world overrun with reanimated corpses, has earned multiple Emmys, a Golden Globe nomination, and two spin-offs (so far) during its 10 (soon to be 11) season run.

For those who are not fans of the Image comic, it may be easy to forget that the series is a comic book adaptation, considering its tone and subject matter are far different from what "casual fans" are used to: superheroes. Of course, there is no room for superhuman, costumed vigilantes in an ongoing battle between humans and zombies (excluding a famous Marvel storyline in which that is exactly what happens), but it does give me an idea.

While alums Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) have already graduated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with significant roles, as Guardians of the Galaxy's Yondu and Black Panther's Okoye respectively, the rest of the cast of The Walking Dead has yet to know what it is like to be a superhero. So, why don't we take a look at some of the show's current series regulars (and even a few old favorites) and imagine what heroes they would be perfect as.

Norman Reedus - The Punisher

Ironically, Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon was originally not meant to survive Season 1 of The Walking Dead. Which leaves us to wonder, had things gone according to plan with the unexpectedly popular character, if Reedus might have stolen his former co-star Jon Bernthal's chance to play Frank Castle on Netflix's Daredevil and his solo spin-off, The Punisher. From how he rocks a leather jacket, owns the road on his chopper, and his mastery of the stoic loner shtick as Daryl, Reedus embodies exactly who would imagine should play the widowed, vengeful war veteran in an MCU reboot... with all due respect and appreciation for Bernthal, of course.

Andrew Lincoln - Blackhawk

He may have left the show in 2018 but, until then, Andrew Lincoln was the heart and soul of The Walking Dead as former cop Rick Grimes: a man who, when his head was in the right place, showed great leadership, made especially commendable by Lincoln's performance. Thus, I believe he would be the perfect choice to lead an adaptation of the DC comic Blackhawk, which follows a squadron of World War II-era fighter pilots which Steven Spielberg has been reportedly working on. However, I would recommend he update it to the present day, so that Andrew Lincoln can play the current leader of the Blackhawk Program, whose name is... Andrew Lincoln.

Melissa McBride - Zealot

Carol Peletier is not one bit the person she was in Season 1 of The Walking Dead, having evolved from a meek, desperate mother into a fearless, fully capable, and even ruthless warrior, as Melissa McBride has played her. Lady Zannah, better known as Zealot, did not become the fierce warrior from the planet Khera that she is known as today, but was skilled in weaponry and expert martial arts long before she became stranded on Earth and joined the WildC.A.T.S. in a war against Daemonites (while this DC property was still exclusively an Image character). Not only does McBride look the part, but has demonstrated how she can be the part on The Walking Dead for years.

Christian Serratos - Zatanna

Going from playing Ned's crush Susie Crabgrass on Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide to playing a badass soldier on The Walking Dead Christian Serratos pulled off one of the coolest magic tricks in TV history by exhibiting a stunning range of versatility. Magic is actually a specialty of Zatanna Zatara, the DC character I think she would be a spot-on choice to play. She may not have same combative expertise as Rosita Espinosa, but as a member of Justice League Dark, Zatanna has had her fair share of monstrous enemies.

Josh McDermitt - Forbush Man

Something you may not know about Josh McDermitt, who plays Eugene Porter (a The Walking Dead survivor who lied his way to ensure his own protection) is that he got his start in stand-up comedy, even if his moments of comic relief on the series make that less surprising. While the actor has proven his dramatic chops on the show as well, I think the actor would do well by playing a superhero that reflects his roots and one of the funniest characters known to the Marvel Universe is Forbush Man, known for his failed attempts to be in superhero organizations like the Revengers, S.H.E.E.S.H., and the Echhs-Men. So, yes, this cast-iron helmet wearing, fourth wall-breaking "crimefighter" is really more of a superhero parody, but that is a pretty hot concept right now, after all.

Steven Yeun - Kamen Rider

Steven Yeun is actually going to be in a recently announced new series based on the Robert Kirkman superhero comic Invincible... but as an animated character, not live-action as I was personally hoping to see the Korean-born actor, best known as pizza deliverer turned expert Walker fighter Glenn Rhee for the first six season of The Walking Dead, portray a new comic book character. One superhero who, despite his influence, is not very well known to American audiences is Kamen Rider, a crimefighting motorcyclist dressed as an insect created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. I think that if anybody can sell the idea of an English-language adaptation of this overseas cult sensation, it's Yeun.

Lauren Cohan - She-Hulk

It has been proven that a performer can smoothly transcend comic book universes (Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck Laurence Fishburne) and British actress Lauren Cohan has already been in two, from playing Maggie Greene (whom Glenn would eventually, unofficially, marry) in The Walking Dead and Martha Wayne (Batman's mom) in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So, why not go for the trifecta and join the MCU as a character whom plenty of Marvel fans have recommended her for already: Jennifer Walters (better known as She-Hulk). The green superhero goddess' solo Disney+ series has yet to be cast at this moment so, if the producers of TWD can write in a few reasons for Maggie to be absent a little more often after Cohan returns to the role, I think she has this in the bag.

Chandler Riggs - Red Robin

The first person you usually think of when you think of Batman's sidekick is Dick Grayson (the first Robin, after all), but then there are also those who have enjoyed Jason Todd or Damian Wayne in the costume, but Tim Drake may be the least appreciated, as far as I can tell. A The Walking Dead character whom I believe was under-appreciated for much of his time on the series was Rick Grimes' son, Carl, the role that actor Chandler Riggs grew up playing. Therefore, putting the actor, now 20, in the role of Tim Drake's current alias, Red Robin, seems like a match made in Heaven to me.

Sonequa Martin-Green - The Crimson Avenger

I do quite miss Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha on The Walking Dead, for her resilience, complexity, and stunning skills behind a firearm. With how well she brought that character to life, I think the actress (who currently plays Commander Michael Burnham on Star Trek: Discovery) qualifies profoundly to play Jill Carlyle, a lawyer who, when coming across a pair of cursed pistols, becomes the latest to bear the title of deadly vigilante The Crimson Avenger.

Ross Marquand - Booster Gold

Yet another The Walking Dead alum who has joined the MCU is Ross Marquand... just not to be superhero, but to use his extraordinary talent of impersonation to fill the role of Red Skull (originated by Hugo Weaving) in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. So, instead of convincing Marvel to give him double duty, I recommend he try out for the other team as a relatively overlooked DC superhero named Booster Gold. While playing the attention-seeking, time traveling Justice League member, who debuted in the 1980s, would be a far cry from his TWD character Aaron, if you look at everything else the actor has done (including voice roles on Seth MacFarlane series), that's just what he may be looking for.

Alanna Masterson - Sage

You think you can call yourself an expert of all X-Men characters just by having seen every movie? Well, think again because one very cool and complex mutant named Sage, who is just as skilled in telepathy as she is in computer hacking, piloting, and martial arts, has only been depicted onscreen in Fox's short-lived spin-off series The Gifted. I believe that the MCU should some day give Sage a new home on the silver screen and I recommend Alanna Masterson because, like Sage, her The Walking Dead character, Tara Chambler, was a headstrong individual who could invoke a hostile personality as a defense mechanism if need be.

Seth Gilliam - Green Lantern

If you are like me, you grew up with the John Stewart incarnation of Green Lantern, who was brought to life on the acclaimed animated series Justice League in 2003. Also, if you are like me, you are probably hoping that Stewart gets to be the star of future films about the organization of intergalactic cops equipped with rings that allow them to fight evil with whatever their imagination conjures. If you saw the side by side photo above with Seth Gilliam (preacher Gabriel Stokes from The Walking Dead) next to an animated shot of John Stewart, I think it speaks for itself why he has a good shot at the role.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Batman

I know, you know, and even Jeffrey Dean Morgan himself knows that this is the correct answer for which superhero the actor, whose most memorably comic book role to date is the despicable Negan, should play. Ever since he appeared alongside The Walking Dead co-star Lauren Cohan as the parents to young Bruce Wayne in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, fans have theorized for years that Morgan would reprise the role of Thomas Wayne in a film based on the Flashpoint storyline, which imagines an alternate world in which Bruce died that fateful day, leaving Martha to go crazy and become the Joker and Thomas taking on the identity of The Batman. The actor has said he is down for the role, if it ever happens, that is.

What do you think? Are these superheroes perfect for The Walking Dead clan, or do you think I'm dead in the brain to imagine such character choices? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for more updates on the popular horror show as well as more hypothetical casting sessions here on CinemaBlend.