After a decade-long dominance at the box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s supremacy is fading away at speed, pushing away not just fans but also major actors, who are instead giving their nods to more nuanced stories. In that regard, Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. seems to be leading the pack with his Oppenheimer success.
Steven Yeun is the latest big-name talent to close the door on the MCU. Instead, he spent his recent time working in Beef, a Netflix comedy-drama miniseries, which has proven to be a huge success in the awards season.
Read more: Thunderbolts Is Reportedly Eyeing Another The Walking Dead Actor As Sentry After Steven Yeun’s Exit
Steven Yeun Bags a Major Award at the Emmys for Beef
Steven Yeun starred opposite Ali Wong in Beef, which follows Danny Cho and Amy Lau’s chaotic lives after their involvement in a road rage incident. An accidental encounter between the two strangers ends up consuming their every thought and action.
The ten-episode series created by Korean director Lee Sung Jin premiered on Netflix in the summer of 2023 and has since attracted millions of viewers on the platform. Now, Beef’s popularity is being reflected in their performance in the awards season.
At the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, the limited series won eight awards, as many as HBO’s The Last of Us, and just two shy of the most successful show on the night, The Bear, which took home 10 awards.
For his compelling portrayal of Danny, Yeun won the Emmy for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, beating the likes of Daniel Radcliffe (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and Michael Shannon (George & Tammy) for the honor. His co-star, Wong, also won the Emmy for Best Actress in the same category.
Why Steven Yeun Turned Down MCU’s Sentry Role
MCU and awards are considered mutually exclusive by many moviegoers and critics alike, and even though they are not directly related, Yeun’s exit from the franchise followed by a major award only provides more fodder for the skeptics looking to laugh at Marvel’s expense.
Steven Yeun was roped in by Marvel Studios to play Sentry in Thunderbolts, the upcoming MCU project on a group of anti-heroes. Speaking to Variety, The Walking Dead star suggested the SAG-AFTRA strike played a part in his decision to back out of the project.
“I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it,” Yeun said.
Having said that, Yeun praised Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier before adding he still wants to do a Marvel movie.
