Pedro Pascal is set to star in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the role of Mister Fantastic.
The actor is not new to stepping into franchises with major fan bases, like playing the Mandalorian in the Star Wars universe or starring in The Last of Us. In a new interview, Pascal addresses the initial backlash over his casting in the Marvel film.
“I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done,” Pascal told Vanity Fair about playing Reed Richards.
Some of the criticism the actor heard following his casting was, “He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave.”
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25. The film also stars Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm / Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm / Human Torch), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm / The Thing), Ralph Ineson (Galactus), Julia Garner (Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer), Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles, and more.
Pascal and the rest of the Fantastic Four team will reprise their roles in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, which is filming now in London.
Earlier this year, Pascal teased his superhero character’s elastic abilities, telling ComicBook, “With Reed, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character. 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.”
