Steven Yeun almost landed the role of Sentry in the “Thunderbolts*” film. Although Yeun’s casting was never officially announced, he did agree to join the project. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts caused by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2023, Yeun had to leave before filming began. The role eventually went to Lewis Pullman, a rising star in Hollywood, who delivered a standout performance. Yeun’s involvement had lasted long enough for Marvel to create concept art depicting him as Sentry.

Official concept art of Steven Yeun as Sentry in ‘THUNDERBOLTS*’ pic.twitter.com/T92uB0ChoJ

— New Avengers News (@NewAvengersNews) May 4, 2025

The concept art, leaked by New Avengers News on X, shows Yeun fully transformed into Sentry. He is depicted with a commanding gaze, clad in gold and navy armor, a prominent belt with the Sentry logo, and a royal blue cape. Additionally, his character sports shaggy blond hair. Despite its blurry appearance, the image is striking and has been verified as genuine.

Although Marvel fans won’t witness Yeun as Sentry or his alter egos, hopes remain for potential future multiverse explorations. Fans continue to speculate on what Yeun’s interpretation might have brought to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, the team at Looper has crafted their own vision of Yeun as Sentry, inspired by “Thunderbolts*.”

Marvel fans who congregate at the Marvel Studios subreddit have mixed emotions about the notion of Steven Yeun dropping the role of Sentry. “I’m a big fan of Steven, and I’m sure he could have been great. But man, Lewis Pullman was just so, so good I find it hard to imagine someone else doing it,” u/HomsarWasRight remarked. The general consensus is that, while Yeun was great casting, everything worked out in the end. “I just know Steven Yeun could have knocked this role out of the park too. I’m glad Lewis Pullman managed to step in and just own it as well,” said u/gerardatron, who added that Pullman actually looks similar to Yeun in certain scenes. “Must be the eyebrows? The jaw? IDK. Must just be me and a few friends who also mentioned it.”

The discussion over Yeun’s lost version of Sentry may have been very different had Pullman not done such a fantastic job. If Sentry wound up being a disappointment and “Thunderbolts*” tanked, it would have no doubt become one of those one-that-got-away scenarios.

How does Yeun feel about all this? In an interview with Variety, he revealed that he didn’t take dropping out of the film lightly. “It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed the sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out,” he said. He added that he would love to play a Marvel character in the future, but wouldn’t reveal which one he had in mind. “I have some ideas. But I heard if you put it out there, you’ll never get it, so I’ll keep it close to my chest.” Hopefully he gets to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point and all this becomes a footnote in MCU history.