Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman says Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards will "lead the Avengers", and let's spare a thought for Sam Wilson

Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman has just revealed who will be leading the Avengers in Avengers: Doomsday.

While speaking to Variety on the challenges of casting Reed Richards – a role that ultimately went to Pedro Pascal – Shakman said, "He goes from being the nerdy scientist who’s locked away in the lab, to the husband and the father who’d do anything to protect his family, to the guy who’s leading the Avengers."

Given Marvel's proclivity for keeping pretty much every story beat and spoiler under wraps, this certainly could be seen as a slip of the tongue on Shakman's part.

Right now, all we know about the makeup of the Avengers comes from the tease found at the end of the Thunderbolts post-credits scene.

There, the newly-christened 'New Avengers' (Red Guardian, Bucky Barnes, Yelena, Bob/Sentry, Ghost, and John Walker) are in a legal battle with Sam Wilson's Avengers over the rights to the name. They're also monitoring interstellar activity, which is when Fantastic Four's ship arrives on the scene (though Marvel boss Kevin Feige's comments about what it may or may not be have only muddied the waters).

Now, it appears Mr. Fantastic will be leading the way for Earth's Mightiest Heroes as they remain on track for a showdown with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Shakman also let us in on another sliver of story information – Galactus will be on a "collision course" with Reed and Sue's child, Franklin.

"What was so charming about this movie is it's about the tiniest, youngest thing in the world and the oldest, biggest thing in the universe," Shakman teased.

Fantastic Four, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach hits cinemas on July 25.

For more on the Marvel Phase 6 opener and future MCU projects, check out our complete guide to upcoming Marvel movies.