While it hasn't been confirmed, all signs point to The Sentry making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2024's Thunderbolts movie.
Expected to the threat the team is assembled to deal with, this is a character who has a very complicated and convoluted history on the page. Essentially retconned into the Marvel Universe's Silver Age, he's since become one of this world's greatest heroes and villains...and even died a few times for good measure.
We're still not entirely sure what Marvel Studios has planned for Robert Reynolds, but regardless of whether you're a hardcore fan of this character in need of a refresher or unsure who the heck he is and why you should care, we have you covered with this handy look into all things Sentry.
Oh, and his evil darker half, The Void (who might just end up the MCU's next big bad...).
To take a look through this breakdown, all you need to do is hit the "Next" button below!
5. The Sentry's Origin Story
For the longest time, Steve Rogers was the only person that the Super Soldier Serum worked on. Other government agencies struggled to create their own versions, and it was in the late 1940s that Project: Sentry was first dreamed up. Meant to be 100,000 more powerful than the serum that created Captain America, it ultimately got bogged down in red tape.
Years later, a meth addict called Robert Reynolds broke into the laboratory of one of the professors who worked on that and ingested the "Golden Sentry Serum" while looking for a fix.
With that, he gained the power of a million exploding suns, and after briefly being held in captivity, Robert attempted to become a superhero. Becoming allies to pretty much all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he married the love of his life, and all seemed to be going well for the Marvel Universe's new hero...until his inner demons resurfaced.
4. The Void
The Void was Reynolds' repressed personality and took the form of a shadowy monster that was every bit as powerful as the Golden Guardian. The monster killed millions, and continued to plague The Sentry throughout his superhero career.
It's even been claimed that the serum actually transformed the drug addict into The Void, with The Sentry a byproduct of Robert's guilt over the murderous creature he had become. Things do tend to get a little convoluted with the villain's existence, but think of it like Superman having a split personality; that's a frightening prospect, right?
The Sentry's very existence is dangerous, though, as his blood can potentially be used to create countless more Super Soldiers, each as powerful - and unhinged - as Robert. Eventually, Robert took drastic measures to stop The Void...
3. The World Forgets
Desperate to rid himself of his darker half, The Sentry enlisted the help of Mister Fantastic and Doctor Strange to make the world forget he exists. In doing so, The Void was vanquished, but so was one of the world's most powerful superheroes.
Robert tried to live a normal life, but was frequently plagued by memories of his past. Demanding to be placed within The Raft in an effort to keep the world safe, that's where he remained until a breakout that saw him forced to become a hero again. The world soon remembered him, but The Sentry's mental health problems only worsened.
That made him someone it was all too easy to manipulate, whether it was by The Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. The former tried to do the right thing, but using The Sentry's powers to counter the threat the Worldbreaker Hulk posed, for example, only seemed to make Robert more unhinged and it was soon after that he fell into Norman Osborn's hands.
2. Yes, He Tore Ares In Half
Fooled into believing he was doing the right thing as a member of the Dark Avengers, The Sentry's fractured mind eventually broke during Osborn's siege of Asgard. The Void had fully taken control of Robert by this stage, and he didn't hesitate when ordered to deal with the Greek God Ares...by tearing the hero in half.
The Void was unleashed, killing Loki, and very nearly destroying the planet. Thor eventually managed to end The Sentry after Robert begged to be put out of his misery. The God of Thunder then flew the fallen hero's/villain's body into the sun.
Since then, he's been resurrected and died on a few different occasions, but no longer seems to be the huge threat to the Marvel Universe he once was. These days, his death even appears to have stuck; however, a return could be on the cards if he really does show up in Thunderbolts!
1. What Should We Expect In The MCU?
Rumour has it Valentina Allegra de Fontaine creates The Sentry in the MCU, but when the experiment goes wrong, it's then she has to enlist a team to take him (and presumably The Void) down. That would explain why this version of the Thunderbolts is primarily made up of Super Soldiers!
We're guessing Marvel Studios' take on this character will be a little less powerful than his comic book counterpart, and Thunderbolts will likely start tying up some loose ends, such as where the Flag Smashers got their Super Soldier Serum from.
The prevailing theory is that Ryan Gosling has been cast as The Sentry for what will probably be a one-and-done role for any actor. There is a chance the hero - and occasional villain - could become a recurring presence in the MCU, but it's hard to predict what Marvel Studios has planned for him in the Multiverse Saga. Could he take down Kang the Conqueror, perhaps?