Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts’ Adds ‘Beef’ Creator Lee Sung Jin as Writer (EXCLUSIVE)
Lee Sung Jin, creator and showrunner of Netflix’s “Beef,” has taken on writing duties for Marvel’s upcoming “Thunderbolts.”
Lee has previously written for “Tuca & Bertie,” “Dave” and “Silicon Valley.” “Thunderbolts” will be his first writing credit on a produced feature film.
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The gig is a reunion with “Beef” director Jake Schreier, who is directing the Marvel movie, and costar Steven Yeun, a member of the film’s sprawling ensemble cast.
“I’m rewriting it,” Lee told Variety in an interview promoting “Beef.” “It’s the whole squad again. Jake asked me if I would come on board. I probably should have taken a break, but there’s a lot of themes and exciting things about the movie that I couldn’t help but sign on.”
He added: “It’s truly an honor to be part of a Marvel thing, but it is very different. One, it’s not my project, it’s Jake’s. It’s such a large scope and scale that the type of writing is very different. At the same time, the process feels the same, I’m still talking to Jake every day. … I think once you find the squad of people you love and trust and are so talented, you do everything you can to keep working with them.”
“Thunderbolts” is expected to begin shooting in June and is scheduled for release on July 26, 2024. Marvel veteran Eric Pearson (“Black Widow,” “Thor: Ragnarok”) did a first pass on the script.
Per usual, details of the production are shrouded in secrecy. For example, Yeun’s role is still totally unknown. But Julia Louis-Dreyfus will reprise her role as Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, with Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes a.k.a The Winter Soldier. David Harbour and Olga Kurylenko will play Red Guardian and Taskmaster, respectively, both of whom first appeared in 2021’s “Black Widow.” Wyatt Russell is also set to reprise his role as John Walker, who debuted in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Like Yeun, “The Bear” breakout star Ayo Edebiri will also appear in the film in an undisclosed role.
In the comics, “Thunderbolts” follows a band of antiheroes who carry out a government mission. The film adaptation will conclude Marvel’s Phase Five, which began with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It will also include upcoming releases “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which hits theaters on May 5, followed by “The Marvels,” “Captain America: New World Order,” “Blade” and “Deadpool 3.”
Lee is repped by WME and Grandview. Marvel declined to comment.
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