Rumors regarding Fantastic Four’s cast have been swirling for years, but Marvel Studios might finally be making some decisions. After making his mark in Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and more, Pedro Pascal is reportedly joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Reed Richards in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four movie.
On Wednesday, Marvel insider Daniel Richtman stated on Patreon that Pascal was in talks with Disney about the role. A short time later, /Film reported that, according to their sources, the actor had already signed on the dotted line — the deal was done.
Deadline then chimed in with a report of its own, backing up both Richtman and /Film. Further, insiders told Deadline that Pascal and Marvel Studios need to work out the scheduling, but that Pascal should be on board for Fantastic Four as well as other projects. Pascal is incredibly busy — he’s set to film the second season of The Last of Us at HBO next spring — so it’s no surprise that fitting multiple MCU projects onto his calendar would take some work.
Over the past few years, Pascal has proven time and again that he’s game for any role, from the silly, obsessive fanboy in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent to the gruff, broken Joel in The Last of Us to a middle-aged, lovelorn cowboy in Strange Way of Life. I have no doubt he’ll give this character some weight, and best of all, his suit won’t be nearly as heavy as it was on The Mandalorian. No wonder he stopped wearing that thing.
Now that the patriarch of Marvel’s First Family has been cast, the studio has to find its Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing.
Fantastic Four is set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025. Matt Shakman, who also directed all nine episodes of WandaVision, will once again sit in the director’s chair. Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water) is now in the process of writing the script.
