It appears Marvel has found the leader of its Fantastic Four. Pedro Pascal, star of The Mandalorian and one of the biggest names in Hollywood right now, is reportedly in talks to play the MCU’s Reed Richards, according to Deadline.
- Deadline reports that a deal is “far from done” to bring the star to the MCU but that “sources close to the negotiations” say it’s headed in the right direction for Pascal to star in Fantastic Four.
- Marvel has not commented on the reported negotiations.
- Pascal is of course known for playing the title role in the hit Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
- He has also earned an Emmy nomination for his role in HBO’s hit video game-based series The Last of Us and is set to star Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Gladiator sequel.
- The schedules of those two projects will be taken into account in the negotiations for Pascal to portray Richards.
- As for the character, Reed was most recently portrayed by John Krasinski in Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
- Prior to that, he was played by Ioan Gruffudd in the two films from 20th Century Fox in the mid 2000s and by Miles Teller in the 2015 film.
- Deadline also reports that once this casting domino falls, the rest of Marvel’s first family would follow soon after and that the hope is to begin shooting the film early next year.
More on Fantastic Four:
- Avatar: The Way of Water writer Josh Friedman has been tapped to write the script for Marvel’s Fantastic Four.
- WandaVision director Matt Shakman is on board to direct the film
- Fantastic Four was originally announced during a Disney Investor Day presentation in December 2020.
- The film was originally slated to hit theaters on February 14, 2025 but was delayed (along with several other films) back in June.
- Marvel’s Fantastic Four is currently slated to premiere on May 2, 2025.