This is a big year for Steven Yeun. The Walking Dead standout has been proving his star power for a while now (even when it was under-appreciated), particularly with acclaimed turns in Burning, Okja, Sorry to Bother You, and Invincible. But in March, Yeun received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in A24's Minari, which means that the future looks bright for the film-TV actor. While his schedule is a little light (for now, at least), Yeun has some promising titles on the horizon — in live-action and animation.
If you love Steven Yeun, here are the movies and shows that you should look out for, including The Humans, Jordan Peele's latest film, and possibly Invincible Season 2.
The Humans - TBA 2021 (Post-Production)
Steven Yeun made a name for himself with genre works like The Walking Dead. But in recent years, he has developed into a compelling dramatic actor, particularly with his impressive turns in Burning and Minari. Now, Yeun will continue to stretch his dramatic talents with The Humans, the directorial debut of playwright Stephen Karam, based on his Pulitizer Prize-nominated one-act play of the same name. This domestic drama takes place over the course of Thanksgiving dinner in downtown Manhattan as a family's tensions reach a boiling point when mysterious things go bump in the night. That's already an intriguing premise, and that's without mentioning the talent involved.
In addition to Steven Yeun, The Humans stars Richard Jenkins, Beanie Feldstein, June Squibb, Amy Schumer, and Jayne Houdyshell, who will reprise her role from the original Broadway production. Also, it's produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Rush, which means that it has serious awards pedigree involved. The movie comes from A24, the same studio behind Minari, which could bode well for Yeun's future awards season chances as well.
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans - TBA 2021 (Post-Production)
The feature-length continuation (and conclusion?) to Guillermo Del Toro's Tales of Arcadia trilogy on Netflix, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans continues the story that came to a close with Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, the fantasy series that followed Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia and 3Below: Tales Tales of Arcadia, respectively, starting back in 2016. The DreamWorks Animation series has been well-received by critics and audiences alike, and this movie should be no exception. It also features an impressive voice cast.
In addition to Steven Yeun, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans stars Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin, and Cheryl Hines, as Variety reported. While Steven Yeun has only played a recurring role throughout the series, his animated presence became a notable highlight. The same will probably be said for this movie.
Untitled Jordan Peele Project - July 22nd, 2022 (Pre-Production)
It was only a matter of time before Steven Yeun's phone started ringing. The actor only continues to impress with his recent performances, and his Oscar nomination proves that Hollywood is watching. Now, Yeun is in talks to star in Jordan Peele's untitled horror movie, which is in pre-production. Details are under wraps, but he will join Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya, reuniting with his Get Out director, in this mysterious film.
Otherwise, as Deadline reports, the only other detail we know is the release date: July 22nd, 2022. That said, production is expected to begin in the months ahead, which means that Peele's Us follow-up will serve as Yeun's next project. Certainly, this is a great role to score, especially after receiving some of his best reviews for Minari, and it should result in another outstanding performance. When we learn more about Peele's upcoming movie, we'll keep you posted.
Beef - TBA (Announced)
Watch out. There's beef brewing between Steven Yeun and Ali Wong — but only the small screen. (Hopefully.) The Walking Dead actor and Always Be My Maybe star are butting heads in A24's upcoming dramedy, Beef, which is a 10-episode Netflix mini-series that follows two people who let a road rage incident "burrow into their minds and consume their every thought and action," as Deadline reported. There's no word yet on when this limited series is expected to move forward, but each episode will be 30-minutes in length and it's expected to be an explosive — or, perhaps, sizzling — affair.
Created by Lee Sung Jin (based on his incident in his real life, apparently), Beef will be Yeun's first foray into television since The Walking Dead, and it sounds like a great project for the actor's developing dramatic talents, as well as his underrated comedic talents (be sure to check out his segment in Netflix's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson). There's no word yet on when Beef starts stewing, but we'll keep you posted.
Invincible Season 2? - TBA (Speculated)
What does the future hold for Amazon's Invincible? We're only at the halfway point in the season, but it's apparent that this animated adult superhero drama is establishing some major stakes. We don't know how Season 1 will end — at this time, at least. But there's a good chance that a second will follow, and Robert Kirkman, the creator of the show and the comic book that inspired it, is already teasing what he'll do if he gets the greenlight.
In a Collider interview, Robert Kirkman claimed that a second season was "entirely possible." In fact, he claimed that work might be underway already. Though the creator admits that the timeline would be "tightened" if another season came to pass, particularly as it took a few years to get the first one off the ground, Kirkman claims that plans were already in place for Season 2 — if people responded well to the first eight episodes. Therefore, this second season will probably happen, which means that Steven Yeun would presumably return to the voice booth to play his teenage superhero-in-training.
Recent Steven Yeun Projects
As noted earlier, Steven Yeun is on a bit of a hot streak. The actor is already impressing TV lovers with his titular turn in Amazon Prime's Invincible, and he has earned some of his finest reviews to date for A24's Minari. Outside of these notable performances, Yeun could be heard in Netflix's Wizards. Additionally, the voice actor reprised his role as Little Cato in the third season of Adult Swim's Final Space, which premiered this month.
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