Pedro Pascal
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Marvel Studios is zeroing in on a Mr. Fantastic. Pedro Pascal is in discussions to portray Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, marking a significant casting move post the end of the actors strike earlier this month.
Sources suggest that scheduling is a determining factor for the deal to work out, and the current status of the talks is uncertain. Marvel had no comment. The genre-centric journalist Daniel Richtman initially reported the news of Pascal’s casting on his Patreon account.
For over a year, there has been speculation about who will star in Fantastic Four, and Pascal’s casting would provide Marvel with a popular and notable star in the franchise as it looks to move beyond the Infinity Saga-era stable of actors.
Pascal is the star of The Last of Us, the breakout HBO series with a season two in the works, as well as Disney+’s The Mandalorian. He is also set to return to the set of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, which shut down amid the actors strike. He previously starred as the villain in Warner Bros.’ and DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 and in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
There are still three key roles to cast in Fantastic Four: The Invisible Woman, The Thing, and The Human Torch.
WandaVision director Matt Shakman is at the helm of the film, set to be released on May 2, 2025. Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer penned a script draft, with Avatar: The Way of Water scribe Josh Friedman currently working on the latest version.
Reed Richards was first introduced in Fantastic Four No. 1 as the leader of the team known as Marvel’s First Family. The 1961 comic launched the Marvel Comics Universe created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Reed Richards was previously portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd in a pair of mid-2000s movies, with Miles Teller stepping into the role for an ill-fated 2015 reboot made by 20th Century Fox. John Krasinski played a version of Reed in the MCU in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Pascal is represented by CAA.
