‘Thunderbolts’: Geraldine Viswanathan Replaces Ayo Edebiri in Marvel Feature!!

Geraldine Viswanathan has replaced Ayo Edebiri in Thunderbolts due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline. The Bottoms actress was announced as a part of the cast early last year, but with the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film suffering production delays following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that took place last summer, Edebiri is no longer available to shoot the MCU action film. Before taking over the undisclosed role in the anticipated blockbuster, Viswanathan was seen in Cat Person and 7 Days, making Thunderbolts the biggest project of her career, so far.

Marvel Studios hasn’t shared a ton of information when it comes to the plot of Thunderbolts, but the team will feature the return of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the Red Guardian (David Harbour), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and the U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). The past few years of MCU projects have set the stage for what Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is trying to do with her team of powerful vigilantes, and it remains to be seen if her plan will actually help humanity, or if she’ll place her personal interests as a priority.

Edebiri continues to be in high demand within the industry, after starring in successful projects, such as Bottoms and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The actress recently won her first Primetime Emmy Award due to her performance as Sydney Adamu in the acclaimed Hulu series The Bear. Edebiri will be seen next in Opus, a horror film written and directed by Mark Anthony Green. A release date for the movie hasn’t been announced yet, but after her recent streak, any project featuring Edebiri will create plenty of anticipation within audiences going forward.

Geraldine Viswanathan Steps Into the Future of the MCU

After starring in The Beanie Bubble alongside Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Snook, Viswanathan will step into the MCU for the first time, as the franchise continues to roll out its fifth phase of films and television shows. Phase Five of the MCU began back when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premiered in theaters last year, and it remains to be seen when Kevin Feige decides it will come to an end. Phase Six will include two Avengers films, and knowing how the franchise connects stories and characters across several titles, only time will tell if Viswanathan will reprise her role after Thunderbolts.