Actor Lewis Pullman portrays the mysteriously named “Bob” in Thunderbolts* (who Marvel fans know is the MCU adaptation of the superhero the Sentry). But if Pullman had his way, his character wouldn’t have been called “Bob” at all, as he wasn’t keen on the name.
Why was Pullman down on “Bob”? It’s simple – he just played a different guy named Bob in Top Gun: Maverick, and didn’t want to repeat himself by portraying a second Bob so quickly.
I’ll admit, typing it out, that’s a lot of Bob. But his name wasn’t changed, and the reason why all comes down to comic book canon, as Sentry’s secret identity is indeed Robert ‘Bob’ Reynolds.
“When I first met with [Thunderbolts* director] Jake [Schreier], I was like, ‘Can we change the name? I just played a Bob’ and he was like, ‘It’s in the comics, you can’t change that’,” Pullman tells Digital Spy. “At first, I was like, ‘Oh gosh, OK, I’m gonna be playing another Bob’ and now I’ve grown to love it.”
Pullman’s suggestion for an alternate name wasn’t so far afield. “I was just gonna say, ‘Can we call him Robert?’ I didn’t have anything that crazy,” the actor explains. But “Bob” stuck, just as in comics, leaving Pullman with a pair of Bobs under his belt.
“I loved playing Bob, and this is actually just one big campaign for me to play live-action Bob the Builder. That’s why we’re all here,” Pullman jokes.
Check out our review of Thunderbolts*, and get ready for Sentry’s return in Avengers: Doomsday as part of MCU Phase 6, which kicks off in July with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. For more, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies on the way in 2025 and beyond.
