How Top Gun: Maverick Inspired Lewis Pullman to Join the MCU
Thunderbolts* could set the stage for a minor MCU crossover.
Lewis Pullman is staying mum on who exactly he’ll be playing in Thunderbolts*, Marvel’s take on anti-hero ensemble pieces like Suicide Squad. The Top Gun: Maverick alum is all but confirmed as Robert Reynolds, aka the Sentry — a complex hero that’s equal parts Superman and Legion — but until Thunderbolts* hits theaters in 2025, we may not get a straight answer from either Pullman or Marvel.
Still, there are other things Pullman is game to discuss regarding Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, telling Inverse that he was partially inspired to join the franchise after getting advice from a Top Gun co-star, Danny Ramirez.
Pullman was offered his mystery role in Thunderbolts* after Steven Yeun departed the project, citing scheduling issues brought on by production delays. At the time, he and Ramirez were also housemates in New York, which made it easier to get his opinion on the MCU.
“I remember I knocked on his door,” Pullman recalls. “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.’”
Top Gun: Maverick introduces us to a crop of promising new stars — but it also forged some ironclad creative partnerships.
Ramirez first joined the MCU in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in 2021. The miniseries positioned his Joaquin Torres as the next Falcon, with him inheriting the wings from Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) himself. His next appearance, in Captain America: Brave New World, will see him taking on the mantle to work side-by-side with the newly-minted Captain America — but Ramirez is clearly hoping for a team-up (or even a face-off) between his character and Pullman’s. “Anything’s possible in the MCU,” Pullman recalls his co-star saying.
In the meantime, Pullman is on the hunt for roles that feel like a departure from his mild-mannered flight officer in Top Gun. “I was so lucky to get a role like Bob,” the actor says. “But I was very aware that, with a movie like that, it’s pretty easy to get caught in a groove or something of a ‘type.’ It's also tempting to just do roles that you feel comfortable in... So it became a definite challenge myself to try and push myself.”
The cast of Thunderbolts in concept art — though Lewis Pullman’s mystery character is nowhere to be seen...
His next role definitely defies any established type. Pullman can next be seen in Skincare, an offbeat thriller that follows a celebrity aesthetician (Elizabeth Banks) who becomes increasingly paranoid that someone is out to destroy her life. Pullman stars opposite Banks as Jordan, a charming “life coach” that may be one of the actor’s most gonzo roles yet.
“When I read [the script], I was like, ‘God, I don’t know... I’ve never done anything like it...’ But it’s also like, ‘Who’s ever going to give me the chance to do something like this?’” says Pullman. Hopefully it won’t be the last film that allows the actor to flex new muscles: Thunderbolts* will likely be a huge new step for Pullman either way, regardless of the character he plays.
