We’ve Already Seen A Major Hidden Villain For Thunderbolts* 4 Times According To Shocking MCU Theory

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A new theory suggests audiences might have already been introduced to a powerful and terrifying new MCU villain who could prove crucial to the storyline of 2025"s upcoming Thunderbolts*. The first trailers for Thunderbolts* seem to suggest that the titular team will form to go toe-to-toe with the United States government and Julia Louis-Dreyfus" Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, but she is not expected to be Thunderbolts*" sole antagonist. In fact, the introduction of an exciting new superhero in Thunderbolts* could actually set up one of the MCU"s most formidable and unstoppable villains.
Following Steven Yeun"s exit from Thunderbolts*, Top Gun: Maverick star Lewis Pullman replaced him, joining Thunderbolts*" impressive cast in January 2024. Although Marvel Studios still hasn"t confirmed his role, Lewis Pullman is heavily speculated to be playing Robert Reynolds, a.k.a. the Sentry, and the fact his character is currently known simply as "Bob" supports this. The Sentry is one of Marvel"s most powerful characters, harboring the power of a million exploding suns, but he also has a dark side, and a new theory suggests we may have already seen this terrifying persona.
Thunderbolts* May Introduce The Sentry’s Greatest Villain To The MCU Thunderbolts*' Sentry Debut Could Also Introduce The Void

Robert Reynolds made his first Marvel Comics appearance in 2000"s The Sentry #1, where it was revealed that amnesiac Reynolds had actually previously been a formidable superhero known as the Sentry. The Sentry had fought alongside some notable heroes, including Mister Fantastic, Doctor Strange and the Hulk, but everyone had forgotten him, including himself. As he remembered his own life, Reynolds also remembered his archenemy, the Void, who he worried was returning. The truth, however, was considerably darker and more heartbreaking.
Robert Reynolds was revealed to have been a meth addict who broke into a laboratory and consumed the experimental Golden Sentry Serum, which gave him the power of a million exploding suns, allowing him to become one of the world"s first socially-accepted superheroes.
The Sentry and the Void are two halves of the same person, Robert Reynolds. The Void is a dark persona that could only be quelled by erasing the world"s memories of the Sentry, and the entity has the power to destroy the Earth, and perhaps even the entire universe. This means that Lewis Pullman"s debut as the Sentry in Thunderbolts* is even more exciting, as Marvel Studios could also use this opportunity to introduce the Void as one of the most haunting antagonists in the MCU"s entire history.
It was later revealed that the Void was a separate dark entity that had been implanted into Robert Reynolds" mind by the mutant illusionist Mastermind, and was amplified by his powers as the Sentry. The Void took on the form of Reynolds" repressed thoughts and became the embodiment of everything negative about him, while the Sentry was a vision of positivity. The Void"s origins stem all the way back to 1600 BCE during the time of Moses, as the entity was said to be the Angel of Death. The Void"s MCU debut is a thrilling but harrowing prospect.
Alioth Is The Sentry’s Void: MCU Theory Explained Loki & Deadpool & Wolverine May Have Already Debuted The Void In The MCU Close The first trailers for Thunderbolts* have all but confirmed that Lewis Pullman is indeed playing the Sentry. The Sentry"s logo can be seen at one moment, while Pullman"s "Bob" appears with countless bullet holes in his shirt, suggesting his skin is impenetrable, which hints at an incomprehensible amount of power. While this means that audiences may also see the emergence of the Void in Thunderbolts*, a new theory posited by Reddit user donking6 suggests that the Void may have already been introduced to the MCU in the form of the smoke monster Alioth.
Alioth has already made several appearances in the MCU, primarily in the Loki series and in 2024"s Deadpool & Wolverine, as the entity resides in the Void at the End of Time and consumes everything living that the Time Variance Authority have pruned there over the years. The fact that Alioth exists in the Void instantly reminds us of the Void from Marvel Comics, and would be a clear connection to the villain in the MCU. Donking6"s theory suggests that Alioth may be the actual embodiment of the Void, which could then become the Sentry"s darker half in Thunderbolts*.
Alioth in the MCU and the Void in Marvel Comics share certain characteristics, most notably the desire to destroy whatever comes in their path, and their amorphous forms. At some point in the future of the MCU"s main continuity, He Who Remains took control of Alioth and made the entity the guard of the Citadel at the End of Time. This could have easily been a future version of the Sentry"s dark persona itself, meaning Thunderbolts* could introduce audiences to a more current version of the Void with the debut of Lewis Pullman"s Sentry.
How The MCU Theory Perfectly Connects Thunderbolts* To The Multiverse Saga Thunderbolts* Currently Has Few Multiverse Connections

The overarching narrative of the Multiverse Saga has, at times, been hard to follow, as Marvel Studios has been exploring many different avenues in the wake of Avengers: Endgame and the conclusion of the Infinity Saga. While projects such as Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Marvels expanded the multiversal stories of this era of the MCU, others have been considerably more grounded. This is the category Thunderbolts* fits into, but Marvel could reveal a direct multiversal connection if this theory turns out to be true.
Thunderbolts* will follow on from more grounded projects such as Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This suggests it will have little impact on the Multiverse Saga"s overall story, but Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed during 2024"s SDCC presentation that the Thunderbolts will be returning to battle multiversal villains in Phase 6. This means Thunderbolts* must establish some sort of multiversal connection, and making the Sentry"s dark persona Alioth from the Void would be a brilliant way to accomplish this.
Thunderbolts Member
Actor
Debut Project
Bucky Barnes" Winter Soldier
Sebastian Stan
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Ava Starr"s Ghost
Hannah John-Kamen
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
John Walker"s US Agent
Wyatt Russell
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Yelena Belova
Florence Pugh
Black Widow (2021)
Alexei Shostakov"s Red Guardian
David Harbour
Black Widow (2021)
Antonia Dreykov"s Taskmaster
Olga Kurylenko
Black Widow (2021)
Little is known about Alioth"s history prior to Loki season 1, episode 5, "Journey Into Mystery," aside from the entity"s connection to He Who Remains during the Multiversal War. Thunderbolts* surprisingly has the perfect opportunity to reveal more about Alioth by tying it to one of the MCU"s most exciting new superheroes, and this would be a fantastic way to connect both the Sentry and the Thunderbolts themselves to the greater Multiverse Saga narrative. By doing this, Thunderbolts* could become one of the MCU"s most important recent movies, which was originally unexpected.

Thunderbolts* Not Yet Rated AdventureAction Marvel's Thunderbolts* is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
Director Jake Schreier Release Date May 2, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Writers Lee Sung-jin , Eric Pearson , Joanna Calo Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Upcoming MCU Movies