How SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Changed The Sentry's Story in Marvel's THUNDERBOLTS* — GeekTyrant

Geek Tyrant

08-05-2025

When Thunderbolts* brings The Sentry to the screen, fans familiar with the comics might've noticed a major difference. The story doesn't hinge on the world forgetting he ever existed, but that's not how it played out in the film, and the reason for the change comes straight from Spider-Man: No Way Home .
Director Jake Schreier, in an interview with Marvel.com, opened up about the creative shift, saying: "Obviously, we couldn't tell that same story because of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Thanks, Jon," he joked, giving a friendly jab at fellow filmmaker Jon Watts.
So, once Peter Parker used Doctor Strange's spell to erase his existence from everyone's memory, Marvel didn't want to revisit that same idea so soon.
In the comics, Robert Reynolds aka The Sentry is a superhero so powerful and dangerous that he had to erase himself from the world's memory to contain The Void, the dark force that lives within him. But with No Way Home beating them to that mind-wipe punch, Thunderbolts* had to go down a different path.
Schreier and actor Lewis Pullman, who plays Bob Reynolds, instead chose to dive deeper into the psychology of the character without relying on amnesia. Schreier said:
"It's interesting reading that run. When we talked to 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 expanded on that internal complexity, saying:
"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."
While Marvel hasn't officially confirmed what's next for The Sentry, he's set to show up in Avengers: Doomsday next year, and Bob's presence is sure to be both a massive asset and a potential catastrophe, which is exactly the kind of tension the character thrives on.