The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman recently made headlines by appearing to reveal that Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) will lead Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Doomsday.
“He goes from being the nerdy scientist who’s locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who’d do anything to protect his family, to the guy who’s leading the Avengers,” Shakman said of the FF patriarch. “I realized that the version we were building had to have all of those elements.”
Though some took this as confirmation that Mr. Fantastic will lead the Avengers in the upcoming MCU event film, others assumed that Shakman was simply referring to Reed's journey in the comic books.
While speaking to Screen Rant, the filmmaker clarified his comments.
"I was talking about Reed Richards in the comic books and how Reed Richards is sometimes the cerebral scientist. Sometimes he's off leading the Avengers, sometimes he's a father, a husband, whatever. So I was talking about him in the comic books and about how there are so many different aspects to that character. Somebody who is believably the smartest man in the universe, somebody who will jump into the action and be believable as a leader. And also somebody who has that emotional connection to their family. And that's why I was drawn to Pedro, such an incredible actor."
"So what he does in Avengers Doomsday is not for me to talk about, talk to Joe or Anthony," he added. "I was just talking about reading the comic books and how I was figuring out who could play him the best."
Pascal also weighed-in during an interview with EW.
"Matt was talking about a Reed Richards that, within the comics of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four are brought into the Avengers and Reed is commissioned to lead a mission, but that is different than what we're doing," the actor says. "So I think what Matt has said about Reed and the comic has been taken out of context."
First Steps also stars Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, and Julia Garner (Wolf Man, Ozark) as the Silver Surfer.
Ralph Ineson will play Galactus, and Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Hauser are also on board in undisclosed roles. John Malkovich's Red Ghost has been cut from the movie.
"Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.