Apparently, Tom Holland’s film “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” released in 2021, had an impact on changing the narrative of Sentry’s story.
Thunderbolts*
Sentry, whose real name is Robert “Bob” Reynolds, was brought to life by creators Jae Lee and Paul Jenkins and stands out as one of the strongest entities within Marvel Comics. This character had his first appearance in live action in the MCU film “Thunderbolts,” portrayed by actor Lewis Pullman.
The Thunderbolts* had to alter Sentry’s storyline because of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Director Jake Schreier recently revealed that Sentry’s storyline alteration in Thunderbolts was because of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Schreier told
Marvel.com
They chose not to include Sentry’s memory-erasing storyline from the comics since it had already been covered. He mentioned, “Clearly, we couldn’t retell that exact story due to ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ Thank you, Jon [Watts].”
In “The Sentry” #1, released in 2000, the character known as Sentry—also named Bob—was first presented. According to Jenkins and Lee’s storyline, Bob erases his existence from everybody’s memory to combat his malevolent alter ego, The Void. Nevertheless, the conclusion of The Void’s rampage unfolds differently in “Thunderbolts” compared to the original comics. This divergence occurs due to an analogous event performed earlier by Tom Holland’s portrayal of Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
By the conclusion of “No Way Home,” Spider-Man wiped his existence from everyone’s memory using Doctor Strange’s assistance. The purpose behind this action was to prevent entities from different dimensions from infiltrating our primary reality.
Therefore, to prevent having a comparable plot in two Marvel films, Schreier opted to modify Sentry’s debut in Thunderbolts.
Moreover, Schreier praised the initial Sentry comic series and stated, “It’s intriguing to revisit that storyline. During our conversation with Paul Jenkins, he described it as a metaphor for mental health and the concept of balancing both goodness and wickedness. However, when I delved into the Sentry comics, I noticed his immense arrogance, which seemed to worry those close to him. This aspect really struck me.”
Interestingly, “Thunderbolts” debuted in US cinemas on May 2, 2025.