Thunderbolts Director Reveals Tom Holland's Spider-Man Secretly Impacted the Movie's Story

A storyline in one of Tom Holland's Spider-Man movies made introducing a new character in Thunderbolts* tricky. Lewis Pullman makes his MCU debut in the film as Bob (aka Sentry/the Void), an unlikely but super-powerful character. Those familiar with his comic origins know that Sentry has been around longer than even he knows, but his origin story had to be altered for his MCU introduction.

Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier revealed in an interview with Marvel that Spider-Man: No Way Home inhibited them from faithfully adapting Sentry's origins. In the comics, Sentry is shown to be an amnesiac hero who erased himself from the memories of the world to stop his alter ego, the Void. Spider-Man: No Way Home included a similar plot point when Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will wipe him from the memories of everyone on Earth to prevent Multiversal threats from hunting him down. How could this story beat have been potentially repeated twice in the MCU?

Due to this being done so recently in the franchse, Schreier said they couldn't recycle the same story for Sentry's introduction in Thunderbolts*:

"Obviously, we couldn’t tell that same story because of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. Thanks, Jon [Watts]."

Instead, Thunderbolts* introduces Bob as a failed Project Sentry test subject whose memory is partially wiped by OXE, but he doesn't have the relationship history with the other Marvel heroes that he does in the comics, which he established before his self-imposed amnesia.

Schreier focused on the aspects of Sentry they could bring to life, such as his being a "parable for mental health" and maintaining his "good and evil" sides:

"It’s interesting reading that run. When we talked to [Sentry creator] Paul Jenkins, he would talk about it as a parable for mental health and this idea of an equal amount of good and evil. But when I read Sentry in those comics, there is this level of hubris that he has, and it feels like people around him are getting a little concerned about it. I thought it was so resonant."

Pullman portrays multiple faces of his character in Thunderbolts*, appearing at times as the human Bob, superhuman Sentry, and evil essence, the Void. Pullman added that they didn't want Sentry/Bob/the Void to come across as "compartmentalized" and hoped to convey that "they are all qualities and parts of one person:"

"We wanted to make sure it wasn’t so compartmentalized, that it was always clear that it was one person. It was never this code-switching, or this kind of lily pad–hopping to a completely different person. They are all qualities and parts of one person."

Alongside Pullman, Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Wyatt Russell. They reprise their roles in the MCU as an unlikely team of heroes brought together by Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Thunderbolts* was released in cinemas on May 2 to positive reviews.

Will Sentry's Comic Backstory Be Incorporated Into Avengers: Doomsday?

Thunderbolts* is not the last time fans will see Pullman as Sentry, with the actor confirmed for a role in Marvel's next major crossover film, Avengers: Doomsday. While it appears Spider-Man: No Way Home prevented Sentry from establishing partnerships with other Marvel heroes before his amnesia, it will be interesting to see whether Avengers: Doomsday moves to build on any of these naturally. 

In the comics, Sentry teamed up with various MCU heroes, most notably Doctor Strange, and even Spider-Man. Before wiping their memories of him, Sentry had a close friendship with Mister Fantastic and even befriended the Hulk. In the MCU, he's developed friendships with different heroes, mostly his fellow Thunderbolts team members, particularly Yelena (Florence Pugh). However, the movie's post-credits scene hinted that Bob may be one of the first to encounter the Fantastic Four, which could restart his comic book alliance with Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards on-screen.

While Thunderbolts* ditched Sentry's comic book origins, the movie did end with the character in a similar place, as part of the New Avengers. Heading into Avengers: Doomsday, Sentry will likely be a key player as one of, if not the, most powerful of them all, which sets up plenty of interesting opportunities for him to interact with other MCU heroes.