Thunderbolts* Director Hints One Character Connects Film to Avengers: Doomsday

According to the director of Thunderbolts*, one of the stars of the ensemble film will play a significant role in Avengers: Doomsday. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will finally reassemble next year to take on Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. The build-up to that confrontation will include Thunderbolts*, a ragtag team of antiheroes who join together to face a foe who is stronger than all the Avengers rolled into one — the Sentry. After seeing how a majority of the Thunderbolts* cast is returning for Avengers: Doomsday, it has raised the question of how the two films will connect. It all comes down to one powerful figure.

SFX spoke to Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier, who teased how one of the film’s cast members may factor into Doctor Doom’s plans in Avengers: Doomsday. “There might be some stones, or pebbles [smiles]. I don’t know how you want to rate your rocks,” Schreier said. “Look, you know the character that we’re talking about, and you know that there’s a level of power involved there that could have an impact going forward. I’m not making Doomsday so I’m not privy to that.”

While Schreier didn’t name a character in Thunderbolts*, his words allude to that person being Lewis Pullman’s Bob, aka Sentry. Pullman replaced Steven Yeun in Thunderbolts*, with the Invincible voice actor having to pull out of the filming. Thunderbolts* has only shown fans short glimpses of Sentry through various TV spots and trailers, with Marvel making sure to keep Sentry in shadows. However, we do see Sentry toss Red Guardian out of a window in the Thunderbolts’ headquarters, the former home of the Avengers, and seemingly kill innocent bystanders as they run on the street.

[RELATED: Is Bucky Barnes Getting a New Codename in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*?]

It’s possible that Doctor Doom gains control of Sentry in Avengers: Doomsday, using the immeasurably powerful character as a puppet and weapon against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. If Sentry is as powerful as Marvel claims, that could spell bad news for our heroes. But if that’s also the case, then how do the Thunderbolts even stand a chance against Sentry in their movie? The odds would appear to be stacked against them.

The Thunderbolts* stars confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday include Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbor, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman. Curiously missing is Taskmaster actress Olga Kurylenko. The status of Taskmaster in Thunderbolts* has been a hotly debated topic amongst fans, with a large majority guessing that Taskmaster will die in the film. With Thunderbolts* hitting theaters in less than two weeks, we’ll soon know if that theory is correct.

Speaking of Thunderbolts* and character theories, a new one going around social media is that Geraldine Viswanathan’s “Mel” is secretly the Marvel hero Songbird. Viswanathan has said that her character is the “little right-hand man” to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. A TV spot for Thunderbolts* appears to confirm this theory, showing Viswanathan wearing a necklace around her neck with a songbird logo on it.

Between Thunderbolts* and Avengers: Doomsday, which movie are you looking forward to the most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!