A slew of rumors circulated on social media that Ryan Gosling may be playing the villain in the Phase 5 Marvel Studios Thunderbolts movie, as either Hyperion or The Sentry.

Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe recently concluded with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but fans are looking forward to Phase 5. The Thunderbolts is reportedly going to be playing a key part in establishing the central conflict leading to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Most of the current speculation comes from noted Hollywood scooper Daniel Richtman on his official Twitter account @DanielRPK. Richtman responds to a tweet regarding all of the members revealed in the Thunderbolts film having had their mind brainwashed or manipulated:

"They're all victims of some sort of brainwashing/ government manipulation."

And that theme should work great with the villain of the film https://t.co/OwvvB0jJ3g

— Daniel Richtman #BlackLivesMatter (@DanielRPK) November 20, 2022

Richtman’s cryptic response that this mental manipulation theme would work great with the film’s villain pushed the notion that the villain would also have a history of such.

But it does not stop there. Richtman also shared on his Patreon account that Ryan Gosling (The Gray Man) is being eyed to play a major villain role in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film. This would not be the first time Gosling has been rumored to be attached to an MCU role, as he was mentioned by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself as a possible candidate for Ghost Rider.

Details about the role are sparse, but it is apparently mentioned that it is "a conflicted and powerful villain", and going so far as calling the role an "evil Superman". There are actually multiple possible characters from the long history of Marvel Comics that would fit this description. However, the most likely possibilities would be Hyperion and The Sentry.

The character of Hyperion has a few versions, including an artificial being created by the Grandmaster to challenge the Avengers, another which is an Eternal from an alternate dimension, a government experiment, and more. What all these versions of Hyperion have in common is that they are either evil by nature or are brainwashed by outside forces as a living weapon.

Meanwhile, The Sentry is a forgotten superhero from the Golden Age. Previously a normal human named Robert Reynolds with a substance addiction, he unknowing consumed an experimental serum that gave him the power of a million exploding suns. As The Sentry, he tried to be a superhero, but his mental condition created a separate, malevolent entity called the Void. This was his own repressed persona, powered by his subconscious.

Both Hyperion and The Sentry are Superman-pastiches, with incalculable power. They have similar feats of strength, flight, speed, invulnerability, and energy manipulation. In the case of Hyperion, he even has laser-like vision. The Sentry, on the other hand, has more undefined powers, including the ability to manipulate reality.

Marvel is currently looking for a big name actor for the villain of THUNDERBOLTS. The character is described as an ‘Evil Superman’ who is very powerful.

This is likely Hyperion due to the recent rumors of the Squadron Supreme appearing in the film.

(DanielRPK | Grace Randolph) pic.twitter.com/XqVqAQcZ8c

— Thunderbolts News (@thunderbnews) November 20, 2022

If the rumors are true, the Thunderbolts may have bitten off more than they can chew. As the team is comprised of mostly Captain America analogues and spies, fighting a being as powerful as Superman will prove to be a daunting challenge. But so far, only David Harbour (Stranger Things) has given any hintof the movie’s potential plot.

In an interview with Comicbook.com, Harbour had this to say:

I have not read a script, but I have been told the arc of the story and how the story goes. It's very cool. It's very unique. It also has all this cool action and comedy, from what has been described to me, and then there is a bomb drop thing we add to the universe, which will be very exciting for the movie to do at the end of this particular phase that we're ending.

As of this date, no official confirmation or denial has been made by Marvel Studios regarding these rumors of Ryan Gosling being cast or the role of the Thunderbolts villain.

Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts is targeted for a theatrical release on July 26, 2024. Ryan Gosling can currently be seen in The Gray Man, available on Netflix.