Credit: Lucasfilm / ABCPedro Pascal has achieved new heights of international fame over the past year, which culminated in the veteran TV actor taking home a surprise win for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series at last night’s annual Screen Actors Guild Awards 2024. And now, he’s breaking his silence on joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
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February 2024 is, perhaps, the most exciting year of Pedro Pascal’s over 20-year-long career thus far. Not only has he started filming the second season of HBO’s critically acclaimed apocalypse-thriller The Last of Us, but he was also confirmed to play Reed Richards (AKA Mister Fantastic) in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four (2025) reboot.
With a prestigious SAG Award under his belt, Pascal seems to be looking to the future as his MCU debut inches closer and closer. After celebrating his victory — in which he clearly didn’t expect to win over Succession star Kieran Culkin — Pascal told ET that he’s “beyond excited” to join Marvel’s First Family and opened up about what he hopes to achieve in the upcoming film:
I can tell you how excited I am, which is beyond! There isn’t anything more exciting than being in a cast like that, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joe Quinn and our director Matt Shakman. To be invited to a family like that is unbelievable, and we all just want to do our best and share it with the world.
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Pascal was careful not to let too much slip about the Fantastic Four remake, keeping in line with Marvel’s usual top secrecy regarding its release slate. His statements do, however, mark the first time he’s publicly spoken about the project, other than reposting Marvel’s initial casting announcement earlier this month.
Check out the full clip (via @etnow on X) below:
Pedro Pascal’s lips are sealed when it comes to when production will start on #FantasticFour but he does reveal that his new #Marvel family can’t wait to “share [their story] with the world.”
Pedro Pascal's lips are sealed when it comes to when production will start on #FantasticFour but he does reveal that his new #Marvel family can't wait to "share [their story] with the world." 🤐 pic.twitter.com/u5MrlnjWD5
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 25, 2024
From the sounds of it, Pascal seems to be intent on getting the Fantastic Four reboot right — and understandably so. It’s no secret that a lot is riding on the success of the upcoming superhero blockbuster, including the reputation of Marvel Studios as a whole, which has suffered several high-budget box office bombs in recent years.
Fantastic Four could be the perfect project to “save” the MCU as President Kevin Feige and Co. look to its — now Kang the Conqueror-less — Multiverse Saga. And with such a talented cast taking on iconic characters like Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm, and potentially Doctor Doom, the movie has all the right ingredients to be a certified hit.
Rumor has it that cameras are set to begin rolling on Fantastic Four in August at Pinewood Studios in London, putting it right on track for its Summer 2025 release date. Still, there are, perhaps, more questions than answers, including who will play the team’s beloved robot sidekick, H.E.R.B.I.E., and which villain will act as the story’s main antagonist.
For now, however, we’ll just have to sit tight until more details surrounding Fantastic Four come to light in the — hopefully — not-so-distant future.
Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025.
Do you agree with Marvel Studios’ decision to cast Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, or would you have preferred to see another actor in the role? Let us know in the comments below!