There are still plenty of questions revolving around one of the biggest upcoming Marvel movies – the team-up film Thunderbolts*. A considerable amount of theories have especially been floating around cast member Lewis Pullman or more specifically, the character he’s playing. It’d be an understatement to say that Pullman and his colleagues have remained mum about his character, who’s only known officially as “Bob,” for now. However, Pullman just provided some clarity on how he was convinced to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Lewis Pullman famously starred as Bob in Top Gun: Maverick and with a number of great stars, one of them being Danny Ramirez. MCU fans surely know Ramirez for his role as Joaquin Torres, which he’ll play once more in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. Pullman recently sat down for a chat with Inverse, during which he revealed that it was Ramirez who convinced him to jump into the superhero genre. The Press Play star recalled the pitch from Ramirez, who was rooming with him in New York at the time, as follows:
I remember I knocked on his door. I was like, ‘Dude...’ And he was immediately in his excitable demeanor: He was like, ‘Dude, you gotta do it! Then we’re gonna be in a movie together! We’re gonna be fighting each other or maybe fighting other people together.’
On its own, the notion of joining a juggernaut franchise like the MCU sounds appealing enough. It’s easy to imagine, however, that the decision to sign on would be a lot easier after hearing a ringing endorsement from a friend and colleague. And, as Danny Ramirez alluded to, there’s also the prospect of Joaquin and Bob crossing paths. The Lessons in Chemistry star recalled Ramirez saying, “anything’s possible in the MCU.” Now, it would seem that the pair could indeed share the screen, as it’s been confirmed that Bob and Torres will be two of the many characters to pop up in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Ahead of those culmination flicks, though, there’s still the matter of additional specifics Lewis Pullman’s actual Marvel role, which he landed after Steven Yeun had to leave the Thunderbolts* cast due to scheduling conflicts. The signs point to the Salem’s Lot star playing Robert “Bob” Reynolds, whose alter ego is the ultra-powerful Sentry. Pullman has remained vague when discussing his role, though his teases have seemingly managed to drum up even more excitement amongst fans.
Bob certainly won’t be alone when he appears in the upcoming superhero movie. Rubbing shoulders with him will be Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Overseeing the mismatched group of antiheroes will be the shady Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
I’m eager to see how Lewis Pullman’s character ultimately meshes with those other unique personalities named above. But, for right now, I’m just pleased that a talented actor like Pullman is officially joining the MCU. Danny Ramirez also deserves a shout-out for encouraging his ex-roommate to take a leap of faith!
Thunderbolts* opens in theaters on May 2 as part of the 2025 movie schedule. In the meantime, dive into some MCU madness by streaming the Marvel movies in order using a Disney+ subscription.
