Steven Yeun on the ‘trap’ of joining the MCU: ‘I’m just making a movie’

Steven Yeun is saying no to any issues with Marvel.

The ‘Nope’ actor, who will team up with ‘Beef’ director Jake Schreier on the MCU installment ‘Thunderbolts’, weighed in on the expectations of directing a superhero movie in a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“Yeah, Jake Schreier, who did the ‘Beef’ episodes, got the gig to direct (“Thunderbolts”) and then he saw me for this role and I read the role and thought, ‘This is really a role really interesting, I’d be down to explore that,’” Yeun said of his casting. ‘I think now it’s less about checking things off a wish list and more about watching an experience.’

The “Walking Dead” alum continued, “I sometimes have conversations with friends who say, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re making a movie.’ And they say, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ I try not to take it because I think it’s the trap. The trap is to look at that thing in the context of how society might see it. Right now, I’m just making a movie. Putting it out is a whole other thing I’ll have to prepare for later.

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While Yeun’s role is under wraps, he said Empire“The intentions of the particular character they wanted me to play were very clear, and that’s what drew me to the film.”

“Thunderbolts” stars Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen and follows their respective MCU anti-heroes. The film was scheduled for a July 2024 release; however, production was suspended due to the ongoing WGA strike.

The Pugh actress recently faced pushback from joining the MCU after appearing in 2021’s “Black Widow.”

“So many people in the independent film world were really pissed at me. They were like, ‘Great, now she’s gone for good,'” the Oscar nominee said. “And I’m like, no, I’m working as hard as I used to work. I’ve always done back-to-back movies. It’s just that people are watching them now. You just need to be a little more organized with your schedule.