Most fans seem to agree that Pedro Pascal proved his doubters wrong with a stellar turn as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
However, while the movie received positive reviews (in no small part due to filmmaker Matt Shakman's decision to make Earth 828 a largely practical, living, breathing parallel reality), the portrayal of Mister Fantastic's powers has led to some disappointment.
Somewhat grounding them in reality meant that Reed didn't perform any of the wild, inventive moves we typically see in the comic books. In fact, the limitations of the hero's abilities were on full display when Galactus very nearly tore him in half.
Marvel Studios concept artist Rodney Fuentebella has now shared some of his storyboards for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, revealing how much cooler Mister Fantastic could have looked on screen.
"Here is another idea I created for [Marvel Studios'] Fantastic Four: First Steps. This is another idea of more cool ways to show Reed's powers. In this case, I wanted to show during the [third] act how Reed would get from the top of the Baxter building to the ground in a kinetic way," he explained, "stretching and hitting debris and such."
There's always a chance the Russo Brothers will stretch (pun intended) the limits of what Reed can do in Avengers: Doomsday. Still, Shakman set some pretty "firm" rules for how the Fantastic Four leader's powers work, so perhaps the range of his powers will expand in the post-Secret Wars MCU.
Marvel's First Family is expected to have a significant role in both Avengers movies, with Franklin Richards key to whatever Doctor Doom has planned for the Multiverse.
You can see what might have been in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the Instagram posts below.
In our review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we concluded, "The Fantastic Four is an exceptional introduction to the MCU’s First Family, and thanks to a Jack Kirby-infused feel that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, it proves to be a quintessential superhero movie with Marvel Studios at its brilliant best.
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.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is now playing in theaters.