Fantastic Four: Pedro Pascal in the next Marvel film?

It’s the big rumor of the day in Hollywood: while the filming of the film Fantastic Four is scheduled for early next year, Marvel would have (finally) found one of its main roles. Pedro Pascal is reportedly close to signing on to play Red Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic. We take stock.

Pascal rather than Gyllenhaal

The actor of the series Game Of Thrones, The Mandalorian And The Last of Us soon in the MCU? In any case, it is now more likely than ever, since he would be the first choice to play one of the founding members of the “first family” of Marvel, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961.

The studio has long searched for the right actor for Red Richards, leader of Fantastic Four. Before Pascal, rumors indicated that Adam Driver (Star Wars), Dev Patel (The Green Knight), Matt Smith (Doctor Who) or Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners) had been approached.

But as the knowledgeable indicates Daniel RPK on X (formerly Twitter), if nothing is official yet, Pascal is “the only one close to signing” :

A choice that may leave you wondering given the busy schedule of the 48-year-old Chilean actor. In addition to the end of filming Gladiator 2Pedro Pascal already has a busy 2024, with season 2 of The Last of Us and the movie Weapons by Zach Cregger. If it is indeed this busy schedule which is preventing any formalization for the moment, the parties would be in the process of making arrangements to make this possible.

Besides Pascal, rumors indicate that Jane Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, would be played by Vanessa Kirby (Impossible mission, Napoleon), and Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, would be played by Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things). The role of the Silver Surfer should go to Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), while Oscar winner Javier Bardem is in the running to play the big bad Galactus.

The superhero family has already been adapted for cinema four times – in 1994, 2005, 2007 and 2015 – and remains one of the cornerstones of the Marvel universe. The character of Red Richards has already appeared in the MCU in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and in the guise of John Krasinski. The concept of multiverse nevertheless allows us to offer several versions of the character.

After a complicated year 2023, marked by the failures ofAnt-Man 3 and of The Marvels, Marvel is in the process of completely overhauling its model. Several projects are being redesigned (Daredevil: Born Again, Blade) and the studio currently only has one release planned for 2024 (Deadpool 3). Enough to take a step back in order to better move forward.

Fantastic Four is one of the most important projects in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scheduled for April 30, 2025 in theaters, the film should introduce the villains Doctor Doom and Galactus, and inaugurate the next major “space” arc of the MCU. To be continued.