Thunderbolts* was one of three new Marvel movies released on the 2025 movie release calendar, and it was a massive collaborative effort between thousands of people made the movie happen. And like the MCU movies before it, blockbusters like this undergo tons of changes throughout production. It’s always interesting to see what shifts were made along the way for these films, and some new early artwork for The Void shows an even more chilling vision of the villain. SPOILERS ahead.
One major highlight of the movie is Lewis Pullman’s Bob Reynolds, who the Thunderbolts* unexpectedly meet during their initial mission. When Valentina Allegra de Fontaine gets ahold of the superpowered guy and tries to turn him into a superhero named Sentry, it doesn’t go as planned. He doesn’t comply and Valentina tries to employ the “kill switch” on Bob. Instead, it creates a new alter ego called The Void, which is the embodiment of depression and traps everyone in his path in their traumas and insecurities. Check out one version of The Void that was ultimately scrapped:
this void would have been BADASS pic.twitter.com/zZesWLyPB2September 3, 2025
This artwork of The Void comes from Marvel’s latest The Art Of book for Thunderbolts*, officially hitting bookshelves next week. X's @belovabolts posted a thread of images from the book after they received their copy early, and was especially excited to share this defunct iteration of The Void that is more fiery red than a simple shadow of himself. Here’s another:
like literally,,, insane pic.twitter.com/rOgFvYV503September 3, 2025
Isn’t it wild how the vision for a character can change so much over time? Personally, I like the simplicity of Bob becoming a shadow in the final version more than these concept images, but it’s a really terrifying rendition. These pieces of art from the movie definitely portray a more menacing adaptation of the character that would have been interesting to see on screen as well. But fans also make a good point that this version of The Void looks dangerously like Vecna from Stranger Things. Perhaps that’s why Marvel ultimately went a different route.
These alternative versions of The Void reminds us how much thought and rough drafts are in Marvel movies before we see the final product. Thunderbolts* has been praised for being the best Marvel movie of 2025 (check out our Thunderbolts* review), with Lewis Pullman’s Sentry unique and layered storyline being one of the most popular high points from audiences. However, because it made just $382.4 million worldwide, joining the lowest grossing MCU movies, it was not considered to be a success.
Thunderbolts* just became available to stream with a Disney+ subscription this week after the ending made its crew of misfit vigilantes official members of the Avengers. The cast is officially set to reprise their roles with the release of Avengers: Doomsday next, which is coming out in December 2026.
