The Sentry is an incredibly complex character on the page, and Marvel Studios both embraced and added to that in Thunderbolts*. The Void became a way for the movie to explore mental illness and depression, but also established that the villain is incredibly dangerous.
In Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene, we learn that Bob has decided against using The Sentry again out of fear that he'll inadvertently unleash his darker half.
Talking to CBR, The Sentry's creator, Paul Jenkins, shared his take on what might be next for the character (the comic book writer is thought to have consulted on Robert Reynolds' transition from page to screen).
"I've always tried to explain to people that like, when you write a villain, you can often agree with the villain," Jenkins explained. "You just can't agree with their methods."
"As they famously say, the villain believes their own story. They think they're the hero. And in the case of The Sentry, I put him forward as – I think it was an ultimate act of heroism that he gives up his heroism in order to save the world. That's a big act of compassion. Because he's addicted. He wants to be The Sentry."
The writer added, "He's a powerful superhero, but he knows that the existence of The Sentry and The Void creates this thing. So he goes back to being just plain old Bob."
"So the power imbalance is such that Bob will always struggle. If I become The Sentry, I will always become The Void. And then I wrote a conceit that wasn't really addressed [in the movie], but maybe we'll do it one day." Jenkins teased, "That if The Sentry saves a plane from crashing, and it's got 137 people in it, then The Void will kill 137 people in a mineshaft collapse, or something."
"There's a ‘one for one.’ So [Bob] knows that no matter what happens, if he saves people, people will die."
It would be fascinating to see Marvel Studios take The Sentry down this route in a future MCU project, but what of Avengers: Doomsday?
A battle with Doctor Doom will likely force Bob to use his powers, though we're hoping the plan isn't for Victor to immediately take him down just to show what he can do (and take Marvel's Superman off the board). After all, it would be a real step back to take a complex character like this and do to him what Doom did to Thanos in the Secret Wars comic book, for example.
Lewis Pullman has received widespread acclaim for his take on the Golden Guardian, so we'd bet on there being big plans for him moving forward.
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes - Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
"Thunderbolts* redefines superhero storytelling to deliver a moving and powerful story that does for the 'Multiverse Saga' what The Avengers did for the 'Infinity Saga' in 2012," we said in our review. "These heroes have earned their place on a Wheaties box."
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters.