Pedro Pascal has been locked in as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, according to an unlikely source.
Yesterday (February 7), the internet was abuzz with more conjecture that The Last of Us star had signed on to be the Fantastic Four's leader in Marvel's movie reboot. Multiple outlets, including ComingSoon.net, reported that none other than the SAG-AFTRA Foundation – the organization that delivers educational programming for Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members – had all-but-confirmed Pascal's casting.
Any evidence of Pascal's rumored involvement in the Marvel Phase 6 film has since been scrubbed from his SAG-AFTRA Foundation profile. However, there appears to be more than a shred of credibility to the growing speculation concerning Pascal's casting. Indeed, the Fantastic Four movie's director Matt Shakman reposted the apparent reveal on his Instagram Stories, which suggests Pascal will indeed play the iconic supergroup's figurehead.
TechRadar has reached out to Disney and Marvel for comment, and we'll update this article if we receive a response.
This is far from the first time that Pascal, who's also starred in Game of Thrones and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, has been linked with the legendary role. In November 2023, we reported on Pascal and Marvel holding talks about his potential appearance as Richards in Fantastic Four, though there was no indication that Pascal was seriously interested in taking on another major franchise role.
Per Disney's Q1 2024 earnings presentation, Fantastic Four is still slated to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025, meaning filming will have to get underway soon to meet its launch date. Marvel, then, will need to set the movie's cast – it's had long enough to do it, mind you – quickly, so we should get confirmation about Pascal's involvement one way or the other soon.
An animated fanbase and 2024 MCU Disney Plus schedule
Given the Fantastic Four's enduring popularity, Marvel fans are desperate to learn who'll be playing the iconic quartet in the highly-anticipated film reboot. Indeed, Fantastic Four casting rumors have sent fans into a tailspin ever since the project was announced, with big names linked to major roles including Star Wars' Adam Driver as Doctor Doom, Barbie's Margot Robbie as Sue Storm, Stranger Things' Joe Quinn as Johnny Storm, and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing.
Over the past six months, things have somewhat settled down, with many MCU fans expecting Pascal to play Richards, and Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible, Napoleon) believed to have landed the role of Storm. Kirby has played it coy regarding those rumors, previously telling TechRadar it "would be an honor" to portray the Invisible Woman.
While we wait with bated breath for Marvel to unveil the Fantastic Four movie's official cast, there are plenty of MCU projects, especially ones coming to Disney Plus, to keep us entertained.
The most notable of that contingent is Deadpool 3, which is slated to arrive in cinemas on July 26. It'll be the only Marvel movie of 2024, and its hotly anticipated trailer is heavily rumored to debut during Sunday's Super Bowl.
As for the TV side of things, we've already been treated to Marvel's first R-rated series in Echo. The only other live-action show set to launch this year is Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and one of its stars has already leaked that it'll be released in October.
But there are three other Marvel Phase 5 shows coming this year – and they're all animated offerings. As noted in Disney's Q1 2024 earnings presentation, X-Men 97 – the long overdue sequel to classic show X-Men: The Animated Series – is due out in early 2024. It'll be followed by Black Panther spin-off Eyes of Wakanda and the college-set Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which was originally titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year, and had reportedly been in danger of being canceled altogether. No release dates have been announced for this trio, but hopefully the wait for their debuts won't be long.
