An Interview With a Sentinel From ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’

In ‘X:Men: Days of Future Past,’ Sentinels are created by a government scientist named Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), which are then assigned to hunt down and kill mutants, usually by breathing fire out of their faces.

In other words: You don’t mess around with a Sentinel.

Out of anyone in the cast of ‘Days of Future Past,’ my dream interview has always been a Sentinel. It’s true, I don’t always agree with what they’ve been programmed to do, but it’s hard to deny the sheer spectacle of what they are – and they are magnificent.

I can’t believe my good fortune when I found out that I was going to have the opportunity to sit down with a real life Sentinel. I’ll admit, my nerves were getting the best of me, but I have probably never prepared harder for an interview than I did for the Sentinel. I mean, how often does one get a chance to talk to one of the most deadly yet impressive machines that has ever been built in Earth’s history?

Our time would be short, but I painstakingly crafted 45 questions that I really think can get to what the heart of the Sentinel is thinking. To maybe find out if the Sentinel has dreams and aspirations of his own. Maybe – just maybe – we can get a small glimpse of perhaps, dare I say it, the humanity behind a Sentinel.

When I enter the Sentinel’s hotel room, he’s seated in the corner. We are both offered a soft drink by the hotel staff, but when I grabbed mine, I accidentally spilled a little on my pants. The Sentinel looked up at me and, if I’m not mistaken, I saw a smile. I’m glad that my minor misfortune allowed us to break the ice, so to speak. Perhaps this would build a rapport between us?

Hello, Sentinel, it’s really nice to meet you…

[Face starts opening, revealing a yellow glow.]

What are you doing, Sentinel?

[Breathes fire out of his face.]

Mike Ryan was the senior editor of ScreenCrush. You used to be able to contact him directly on Twitter. He is survived by two turtles.