Getting the chance to play in the Marvel sandbox is a dream come true for many actors out there, but it’s not up everyone’s street. Just ask Emily Blunt or Jeremy Allen White. And maybe we can add another name to that niche list too.
Austin Abrams perhaps isn’t a household name, but if you’ve ever watched a TV screen you’re bound to have seen his face. The 1996-born actor has appeared in the likes of The Walking Dead and Euphoria, as well as in movies such as Paper Towns and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. A rare leading role, however, came in Netflix’s Dash & Lily, an acclaimed festive teen romcom that was cruelly cancelled after just one season in 2021.
A jump into the Marvel realm would be a huge break for the star, then, but it seems like the MCU isn’t of any interest to Abrams. Or maybe he just didn’t want to exist in the shadow of a certain Beef icon…
Austin Abrams reportedly turned down the chance to replace Steven Yeun in Thunderbolts
According to rumored intel, Austin Abrams could have been Thunderbolts‘ new Sentry, but he turned the part down. For context, the mega-superpowered character was all set to be played by Steven Yeun before the Minari star was forced to exit the project due to scheduling conflicts caused by the strikes. Word has it that Abrams was then offered to take his place but passed on the opportunity to play the golden-haired hero.
Again, this is unconfirmed as yet, but it would make a lot of sense for director Jake Schreier to have reached out to Abrams considering they worked together on Paper Towns. Likewise, Schreier clearly likes to turn to trusted collaborators as he and Yeun already paired up on Netflix’s Beef. This prior working relationship makes it all the stranger that Abrams would pass on such an exciting role, one with huge potential for the future. He knows firsthand what Schreier can bring to a project and the director is big business right now amid Beef‘s awards success and his upcoming work on Star Wars series Skeleton Crew.
Maybe Marvel just isn’t for Abrams, which would somewhat add up with the lack of franchises in his filmography so far. On the other hand, perhaps he also had scheduling conflicts or else didn’t feel the role of Sentry was for him — although a glimpse at the image above suggests he would’ve looked the part. All we can say is that, if this info is accurate, then we might’ve missed out on two intriguing Sentry castings, not just one.
