Fantastic Four star Pedro Pascal recalls the "strange" way he got the Reed Richards role: "It changed the course of my life in a very sudden way"

Pedro Pascal says landing the role of Reed Richards in Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four movie was strange and unexpected - but wonderful nonetheless.

"It was a big strange thing that I hadn't planned on happening. It changed the course of my life in a very sudden way, so I really had to process. I went on a walk with one of my best friends, and while I was talking about it, this charming little girl very aggressively started to sell me lemonade from a lemonade stand," Pascal told Entertainment Weekly. The actor says he was giving advice to Gladiator 2 co-star Joseph Quinn about the Human Torch casting process when the fates aligned.

"I was so charmed when I heard this voice saying, 'What are you doing here?' I look up, and it's Matt Shakman. It's his daughter! Literally the Sunday after he and I had met to talk about the project. And I had literally just been discussing, 'This is not what I expected to happen, but I think I have to do it.' Then this happened, and as we walked away with our lemonade, my friend said, 'I guess you're doing it!'"

The cast of Marvel's first family includes Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. The rest of the cast includes by Julia Garner's Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson's planet-eating Galactus, as well as John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Paul Walter Hauser.

The Fantastic Four, which marks the team's first entry into the MCU, though it was recently confirmed that the team will appear once again in Avengers: Doomsday - which makes perfect sense given that Dr. Doom is a notorious archenemy of the Fantastic Four in the comic books (He also has a terribly boring ride at Universal Studios).

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025. For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and shows and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.