How Tom Holland's Spider-Man: No Way Home Completely Changed THIS Major Thunderbolts Character; Director Jake Schreier Reveals

Sebastian Stan and Florence Pugh's latest Marvel blockbuster, Thunderbolts*, brought a significant new MCU character to the screen: Bob aka Sentry, or The Void, portrayed by Lewis Pullman. However, director Jake Schreier reveals that they could not remain faithful to the comics for Bob, and Tom Holland's Spider-Man: No Way Home is partially responsible.

In a discussion with Marvel, Schreier shared that No Way Home made plans to retell Sentry's complicated backstory. Holland's 2021 movie concluded with Peter Parker requesting Doctor Strange to erase all his memories from the world to avoid a multiversal crisis.

This is similar to memory erasure, a fundamental concept of Sentry's comic book background. Bob turns out to be an ancient, forgotten hero who erased the world's memory to trap his darker second self, the Void. Schreier said it would have felt redundant to apply the same tale to Sentry so shortly after Spidey's saga.

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

Instead, Thunderbolts* reinvented Bob as a failed test subject of the clandestine O.X.E. program whose memory was partially erased. Rather than concentrating on Sentry's dynamics with other pre-existing Marvel heroes as per the comics, Schreier decided to keep the movie focused on the internal conflict of the character.

He brought out the mental illness metaphor underlying the Sentry/Void relationship, representing the dualities of good and bad in one individual. When Schreier read the Sentry comics, he resonated with the character's remnant hubris.

ALSO READ: Who is The Void? Thunderbolts Reveals Lewis Pullman's Character Details Ahead of Upcoming MCU Film Release

"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," the filmmaker concluded.

Pullman also mused on the depiction of the complicated facets of his character. The actor and Marvel's creative team later zeroed in on portraying Bob as one individual dealing with massive psychological stress.

"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," Pullman said.

Although Sentry's initial origin was changed, Lewis Pullman's character will be coming back in Avengers: Doomsday, per The Direct. A post-credits scene in Thunderbolts* or The New Avengers foreshadows his possible link to Marvel's new Fantastic Four.

ALSO READ: Here's Why THUNDERBOLTS* Star Lewis Pullman Thought He Would Miss Out on Void Role in Past