THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Star Pedro Pascal Reveals Surprising Inspiration For Reed's Stretchy Abilities

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Star Pedro Pascal Reveals Surprising Inspiration For Reed's Stretchy Abilities

Fantastic Four: First Steps star Pedro Pascal has revealed how he approached the movie's depiction of Reed Richards' unusual stretchy abilities, and his inspiration might surprise you...

By MarkCassidy - Apr 18, 2025 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantastic Four

The new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally showed Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) using his powers, putting an end to the speculation that the character's somewhat bizarre abilities might be revamped for the MCU reboot.

Though these powers will obviously be brought to life via CGI, Pascal was still required to act out the scenes pre-VFX, and the actor has now revealed his surprising inspiration for Mr. Fantastic's stretchy abilities.

“With Reed, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character,” The Last of Us star told ComicCook.com during Star Wars Celebration. “I guess I’ll just give it completely away. I thought of the brilliance of an octopus. Not in any literal physical translated way, but I put it into my subconscious. Yeah. That’s the biggest character secret reveal that I’ve given to you.”

This may not seem like much of a reveal, but it might give us a better idea of what to expect from First Steps' depiction of Reed's powers - think measured and graceful as opposed to quick, explosive movement.

Pascal was also asked to compare the physical challenges of playing Reed Richards versus his The Mandalorian and Grogu character, Din Djarin.

“That’s such a great question. You know, with Din Djarin, there’s so much physical authorship that is a collective effort, with my work, Brendan Wayne’s work, Latif Crowder’s work, other bodies that have stepped into the armor, but primarily, those two guys and myself. With Reed, that, for me, was a brand new kind of experience to author something that is very, very familiar to the world, has previous authorship, a very specific understanding of the pages of the comics, and different evolutions and stuff like that. And then something that is so independent in its identity as far as our version is concerned. To me, you know, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character, and it’s really his mind that was the most important to me.”

The Fantastic Four reboot 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, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing. 

Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich are also on board in undisclosed roles. 

Kevin Feige recently confirmed that the movie will take place in an alternate universe, but we know that Marvel's First Family will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so we wouldn't be surprised if they find their way into the main MCU timeline by the end of this 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."

Matt Shakman directs The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

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HagridsHole1
HagridsHole1 - 4/18/2025, 12:06 PM
I really was on the fence about him playing Reed, but he's a fantastic actor and I firmly believe he can pull it off. Hope the film is a proper return to form for Marvel
lvcl
lvcl - 4/18/2025, 3:04 PM
@HagridsHole1 -


"I thought of the brilliance of an octopus."

These are the smartest words of the smartest man alive??? That Pancho Villa has never read a comic book abut Fantastic Four.

What a mesh!!!
LoudLon
LoudLon - 4/18/2025, 7:45 PM
@lvcl - He doesn't have to have read the comics or be as smart as Reed Richards, he just needs to be a good actor who can perform the character as written by the screenwriter and as directed by his director. Which, as made evident by his success as an actor, he can do.
Latverian
Latverian - 4/18/2025, 10:20 PM
@lvcl -

Fun fact:

Certain subspecies of octopi are actually among the most intelligent creatures on the planet, often rivalling and sometimes even surpassing human intellect.

That alo includes most of the users here.

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ComicBandit
ComicBandit - 4/19/2025, 9:17 AM
@lvcl - Octopi are actually amongst the smartest animals alive and are able to solve complex problems. Capable of squeezing their bodies through the smallest spaces and altering the pigmentation and texture of their skin to match their surroundings. There are even people within the scientific community who believe it's possible that the Octopus didn't originally originate from earth. Which is why they used that in tv show Resident Alien. Sooo, the brilliance of the Octopus is a pretty valid statement. Relatively. Just saying.
whatthetruck
whatthetruck - 4/19/2025, 11:50 AM
@HagridsHole1 - Silver Surfer has hair.
lvcl
lvcl - 4/19/2025, 7:07 PM
@LoudLon -

Success as an actor? You mean The Mandalorian, where he's always wearing a helmet and you can't even see his face.
lvcl
lvcl - 4/19/2025, 7:15 PM
@LoudLon - If you haven't read any comics and you were inspired by an octopus to play the character Reed Richards, the smartest man alive, you can already be instructed by the screenwriter and director that you are going to play Reed Richards incorrectly. This is the way that Disney garbage is produced?
LoudLon
LoudLon - 4/19/2025, 10:38 PM
@lvcl - He's done way more than just The Mandalorian and has been in high demand for years now. I'm sure you know that, but I understand why you'd avoid mentioning that, as it would undermine your comment. Hey, I ain't mad at it, man. You do you.

Regarding your other comment below, you kind of straw manned yourself there. An actor is hired to play the character as it's written in the script and guided by their director. What the actor personally bases their characterization on, or where they find their inspiration for it, is neither here nor there if the resulting performance is exactly what the writer and director wanted.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 4/18/2025, 12:08 PM
Im on the fence on him playing Reed along whit the rest of the site
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/18/2025, 5:15 PM
@Malatrova15 -

I'm not on the fence.
90caliber
90caliber - 4/19/2025, 7:50 AM
@Malatrova15 - Please tell me that's a typo? Whit? I mean, the correct word is with and it's four letters too, so, why?!
bobevanz
bobevanz - 4/18/2025, 12:10 PM
Pedro's casting has grown on me. I shall trust the process for this one. Now give me a Superman Article on SUPERMAN DAY
thebamf
thebamf - 4/18/2025, 12:25 PM
@bobevanz - Right?!?!? There should be all kinds of posts about Supes on his big day.
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 4/18/2025, 12:39 PM
@bobevanz - it's DC, they'll get to it when they get to it. We need another 10 articles about the season finale of Daredevil Born Again
Huskers
Huskers - 4/18/2025, 12:41 PM
@bobevanz - thank you for sharing this! Came here just to see it and was disappointed it wasn’t posted. Too many Disney shills as contributors here. Thats why we get 400 articles on Daredevil and Deadpool & Wolverine. 🙄 Look for Josh to post an article today on why the Superman movie could disappoint and how it will be overshadowed by FF.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 4/18/2025, 12:42 PM
@bobevanz - 🤢🤮 that suit looks horrible.

you still a 🤡
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 4/18/2025, 1:54 PM
@JurassicClunge - Cal-El in his Kryptonian Vel-Cro
ComicBandit
ComicBandit - 4/19/2025, 9:26 AM
@bobevanz - Awesome.
Huskers
Huskers - 4/18/2025, 12:15 PM
Stretch Armstrong toy?
CAPTAINPINKEYE
CAPTAINPINKEYE - 4/18/2025, 12:16 PM
My inspiration for my "stretchy abilities" is porn.
DTor91
DTor91 - 4/18/2025, 12:16 PM
“ but this is a brain character, and it’s really his mind that was the most important to me.”

But but but “he looked confused?!”

As it’s Superman day, I’ll refrain from using colorful language, but you fools know who you are.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 4/18/2025, 12:23 PM
@DTor91 - really , people were complaining about that?:

It’s obvious that he was nervous about being a dad and with Galactus & Silver Surfer , this FF doesn’t seem to have encountered a threat of that magnitude yet and it seems like it’s because of something he does so he’s guilt ridden too about putting everyone in danger.

The last line he has is him trying to project confidence as a leader.

We saw many shades already
DTor91
DTor91 - 4/18/2025, 12:43 PM
@TheVisionary25 - Dude, the amount of mental gymnastics that was going around yesterday. Reaching more than Reed himself to find anything and everything to complain about.
grif
grif - 4/18/2025, 12:22 PM
why not just use Frankie Raye nova instead of pissing people off with the woman surfer?
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/18/2025, 2:01 PM
@grif -
I doubt this is the logic, but lets for a moment view it entirely without a political or social focus and just a business mentality:

1 - The general audience only know of Galactus and the Silver Surfer.

2 - Silver Surfer's storyline was done before with Norrin Radd and they plan to lean on a lot of the same visuals.

3 - Frankie Raye, if considered, would visually look like the Human Torch and could confuse younger audiences.

4 - The setting being a different reality gives an in-universe justification for Shalla-Ball to be chosen as you can claim that they are a variant and not the main MCU Silver Surfer (Even if there are no plans to do Norrin Radd)

As such Shalla-Ball would be chosen, as she retains the general appearance and name of the Silver Surfer for marketing purposes, while being distinct enough to differentiate from the 2007 film.

A corporate business decision, a political/social decision or a combination of both - but either way it means a Silver Surfer who isn't Norrin Radd which was always going to generate a bit of controversy unless they prefaced this by confirming we would get Norrin Radd - though given the failures and cancelling of a lot of projects plus the likely full reboot with Secret Wars, nobody would believe them if they had announced anything.

Only other option to sidestep the controversy would be to announce that Norrin Radd would be in Avengers Doomsday/Secret Wars - which could have generated a lot of speculation over if Galactus would show up in Avengers Doomsday/Secret Wars also. Though this would potentially spoil the outcome of Fanta5tic Four OR reveal a twist villain or presence of Galactus in that film.
Corruptor
Corruptor - 4/18/2025, 4:49 PM
@Scarilian - "Shalla-Ball"

If Shalla has Balls in this that will really set the cat among the pigeons.
abd00bie
abd00bie - 4/18/2025, 5:56 PM
@Scarilian - Frankie Raye as a Herald looks exactly like Shalla Bal in this but with flame hair. They could have done a cool parallel with Johnny tbh. Still looks good to me though
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/18/2025, 7:51 PM
@abd00bie -
She's been represented as more of a woman covered/made of flames and that's become the more popularised appearance.

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@Corruptor -
Revenge of the auto-correct unfortunately xD
whatthetruck
whatthetruck - 4/19/2025, 11:54 AM
@grif - @grif - Listen grif, you'd never understand, ok? Surfer being a woman is how it was always meant to be. It was a mistake that he was ever a man. You're actually amongst the minority here, yeah? Get with the times, PAL.
ElJefe
ElJefe - 4/18/2025, 12:24 PM
Actors are so weird. An octopus.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/18/2025, 12:51 PM
@ElJefe -
All the actors have had really stupid things to say.

I imagine this was him referring to a scene where Pedro Pascal will squish his body to move through something, similar to Reed Richards doing that in the more accurate Fantastic Four:



CaptainTriip
CaptainTriip - 4/18/2025, 3:19 PM
@ElJefe - Jesus Christ, do you have any idea how art is made? I think there’s an “Everybody loves Raymond” marathon on somewhere calling your name.
ElJefe
ElJefe - 4/18/2025, 5:09 PM
@CaptainTriip -

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MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/18/2025, 5:18 PM
@CaptainTriip -

One can know how art is made and think many artists are weird.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 4/18/2025, 12:25 PM
Everything about this project just feels weird. Looks weird, Ben sounds weird, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards is just.. kinda weird.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 4/18/2025, 2:07 PM
@TheNewYorker - Weird? Weird.

Different. Different? Different.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 4/18/2025, 5:19 PM
@TheNewYorker -

Weird liberals make weird movies.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 4/18/2025, 6:11 PM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Sure, Sweetheart. Sure.
SuperCat
SuperCat - 4/18/2025, 12:29 PM
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