Pedro Pascal may be feeling the pressure when it comes to joining the MCU as Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but he's putting in the work to make sure that his performance rings true for fans of the venerable Marvel superhero team.
According to a new interview, Pascal joined the cast of Avengers: Doomsday at Robert Downey, Jr's house for what Vanity Fair calls a "homework day," presumably involving brushing up on the continuity of the characters, their relationships, and their already established adventures.
As for what "homework day" specifically entails, Pascal is cagey, saying only "Very good question," when asked, a refrain he repeats - "Good question" - when he's queried about which superheroes (and villains) from the sprawling Doomsday cast will be in attendance.
While we can only speculate as to who might have been at the "homework day" and what it may have entailed, we do know that the event's host Robert Downey, Jr. has thrown himself into his character of Doctor Doom, with Avengers: Doomsday co-director Joe Russo stating that the actor was "So immersed in it…so dialed in," that he was "writing backstory," and coming up with "costume ideas."
That does leave me with some curiosity, as Doctor Doom already has one of the best costumes and most richly detailed backstories in all of superhero comics, let alone just the Marvel Universe. But it also suggests that Downey and his castmates are taking the work of building and portraying their characters seriously, with more flair than a simple popcorn flick.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25. For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and shows and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
