The new year started with unexpected rumors about the current Avengers lineup for the Avengers 5 and Secret Wars crossovers that will end the Multiverse Saga. The gist of it is that Marvel is not ready to deploy the team that should meet the first multiversal villain(s) in Avengers 5. The sequel will likely be delayed. Also, several big names might not appear until Secret Wars, considering how the story is supposed to unfold.
But the MCU heroes are only as good as the villains Marvel can come up with. And I’m about to share two unexpected updates about two exciting Multiverse Saga villains. They’ll leave you both sad and happy, in that order. But before divulging these secrets, I must warn you that big spoilers might follow below.
I said the Marvel villain rumors would leave you sad and happy in this order as I’m looking at the chronology of the MCU. We’re progressing towards the Multiverse Saga finale, and we should meet several villains along the way.
The news concerns Sentry, the main antagonist of Thunderbolts, and Kang, the big villain of the overall story.
Steven Yeun is out
The addition of Steven Yeun to the cast of Thunderbolts was one of the most exciting rumors of the past year. Yeun played one of my favorite Walking Dead characters, and I just loved him as one of the titular characters of Netflix’s Beef last year.
Have him play the villain of Marvel’s Suicide Squad version, and I’m in. All rumors pointed to Yeun playing Sentry, a massive Superman-like superhero/antagonist from the comics.
However, Marvel never confirmed the casting, not that it had any time to do so. The summer of 2023 will be remembered as the summer of the Hollywood strikes. The writers and actors went on strike in this order, and the studios needed several months to reach new deals.
As a result, most Hollywood projects are delayed, Thunderbolts. The crossover will not premiere this year, as was the original plan. That might be the reason why Yeun is no longer attached to playing the villain. But that’s speculation. Well, rumors are all we have. Marvel never confirmed Yeun’s involvement, so it doesn’t have to announce his departure.
The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter. But there’s no explanation for his departure.
Interestingly, Marvel insider Daniel Richtman said he saw Yeun suit up as Sentry, as seen above. “It might be the best superhero suit we’ve seen in the MCU,” he said before news got out that the actor was out of the project. Who will replace him? Well, we’ll have to wait to find out.
Kang being recast?
I told you recently that I’d love Marvel to recast Kang after the whole Jonathan Majors fiasco. Maybe not now, but as we get closer to the big Avengers 5 and Secret Wars finale. And some rumors say that’s what’s going to happen eventually.
Considering how good Majors was in the role, Kang might be toxic now. Fans will associate the character and the actor. So, we might not get any Kang involvement in future stories. But I think the villain deserves better than that. We should see this Kang story come to an end. And Kang is the big villain of the Multiverse Saga.
It could be years until we get a Kang version, and I’m good with that. While we wait, the same Daniel Richtman has an update on the matter. Apparently, Colman Domingo is in the running for Kang.
You might have seen Domingo in Fear the Walking Dead, a star of the show since it debuted several years ago. He also had a recurring role in HBO’s Euphoria and voiced Unicron in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
While this is just a rumor, I’m excited to hear that Marvel is working on recasting Kang. It might mean we’ll see the character sooner than later. Then again, it might be years until we get a Kang variant in the MCU, whether it’s Colman Domingo or someone else.
