Pedro Pascal is officially Mister Fantastic, but don’t let the stretchy powers fool you. For him, joining The Fantastic Four: First Steps wasn’t just exciting, it was “really intimidating.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pedro opened up about what it’s like stepping into one of Marvel’s most iconic roles, and honestly, he sounds just like the rest of us would if we had to carry an entire franchise on our shoulders.
“It was really intimidating,” he said. “I relied on the people that I was around to hold me to the experience and help get me through it.”
The 50-year-old actor is no stranger to big franchises. He’s already survived Westeros (Game of Thrones), smuggled through Colombia (Narcos), blasted across galaxies (The Mandalorian), and cried through the apocalypse (The Last of Us). But even with all that experience, he says nothing really makes it easier.
Each time, he says, feels like the biggest risk. “They’re all scary because you really want to make people happy, especially if it’s something that’s widely known with particular expectations around it.”
That’s where the pressure hits hard. Fans have been waiting for a solid Fantastic Four reboot for years. And when you’re the guy playing Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, the brains, the leader, the emotional anchor, you don’t just show up. You have to nail it.
Pedro’s not just trying to meet expectations. He also wants to bring something real to the role. “You want those expectations to be met,” he said, “but you also want to be authentic to yourself so that it can be the best that it can be for anybody who wants to be entertained by a story and travel with us into this world.”
The rest of the cast is stacked.
- Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman
- Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm/The Thing
Joseph Quinn, yes, the Stranger Things breakout, also gave a bit of insight into his version of Johnny Storm, saying it won’t be the same cocky, womanizing type Chris Evans played in 2005.
“He was branded as this womanising, devil-may-care guy,” Quinn said, “but is that sexy these days? I don’t think so. This version of Johnny is less callous with other people’s feelings, and hopefully there’s a self-awareness about what’s driving that attention-seeking behaviour.”
The new Fantastic Four is set to drop on July 25, 2025, and honestly, with this cast and a more grounded take on the characters, it might actually deliver what fans have been waiting for.
Pascal’s already crushed every major franchise role he’s touched, so if anyone can finally do Reed Richards justice, it’s him. Even if he was terrified the whole time.
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