16 years after Robert Downey Jr. beat him to the leading role in Iron Man, we’re still waiting on Tom Cruise to enter the Marvel universe. But at least his odds just went up thanks to the Multiverse Saga’s latest casting twist.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thunderbolts may have just found its Sentry. Following Steven Yeun exiting the project due to scheduling conflicts, and reports that Austin Abrams turned down the opportunity to fill his role, actor Lewis Pullman is in early talks to join the Jake Schreier movie in the role of Robert Reynolds. Comic book readers will know that Sentry is a vastly powerful character, perhaps the most powerful superhero the MCU has yet introduced, so expect big things from Pullman in the franchise’s future. Assuming, that is, that talks go well and he does sign along the dotted line.
Pullman — son of Independence Day star Bill — has already worked with Captain Marvel herself Brie Larson in Apple TV’s Lessons in Chemistry, but he’s perhaps best known for appearing in Top Gun: Maverick. And it’s this that’s getting our hopes up Cruise could land his own Marvel gig one of these days.
Lewis Pullman is the latest example of Marvel gunning for the cast of Maverick
If Pullman does make it third time’s the charm and agree to be Marvel’s Sentry then he will become the sixth cast-member of Top Gun: Maverick to play a role in the Marvel multiverse, and the fourth to join the MCU specifically.
Miles Teller, battle-scarred veteran of 2015’s Fantastic Four, co-starred as Goose’s son Rooster. Jennifer Connelly featured as Maverick’s love interest Penny, after voicing KAREN in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Jon Hamm played Cyclone — don’t forget, he had a voiceover role in Legion and was cast as Mister Sinister in The New Mutants before the destruction of Fox’s X-Men universe meant he never got to shoot a scene. Ed Harris (Hammer) is set to appear in Disney Plus’ Wonder Man and Danny Ramirez (Fanboy) portrayed Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a role he’ll reprise in Captain America: Brave New World.
At this rate, it’s surely only a matter of time before Marvel collects the full cast like Pokemon — Glenn Powell is certainly an actor who seems destined for a superhero part one of these days. As for Cruise himself, a cameo as Superior Iron Man in Avengers: Secret Wars is a low-hanging fruit that no one would mind if Marvel plucked from Loki’s time-tree. Congrats, Lewis Pullman — we look forward to seeing you as Sentry. And if you could give Cruise a call to tell him how much you enjoyed working with Marvel, that’d be great too.
